Her Redemption for His Sins (Under Heavy Editing)

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Chapter 1

It was a typical Saturday morning when Leena's life changed. She was halfway through a mocha cappuccino from that cozy little Cafe downtown, with her head buried in a crossword puzzle and a pen pressed against her pale cheek. The rain was falling heavily against the cafe window as she scribbled the answer to 'Spiral staircase's shape' and she found herself bored with the damned piece of paper. She stuffed the puzzle back into the laptop bag with disdain and found herself longing for the comfort of flannel pajamas and an extra hour of sleep.

As a creature of habit, Leena began walking home from the Cafe, talking with the nut job from apartment 201B who she often caught watching people with tiny binoculars, all while listening to her favorite podcast on mindfulness. She jogged over to the postal boxes that lined the walls of the laundry room with empty mind before turning the key without much gusto.

As she opened the postal box a multitude of papers tumbled out onto the floor. One of the elderly patrons of this dinghy establishment glared at her viciously for interrupting their peaceful laundry time and Leena felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she bent to pick up her mail. The pile of mail was mostly junk, but a thick manila envelope jutted out and she felt her pulse quicken with just another glimmer of hope.

Despite a multitude of rejection letters, Leena clenched the envelope in her hands like a giddy schoolgirl, before walking back to the dilapidated and overpriced apartment. It was an uneventful journey back to her temporary abode but by the time she got back her cheeks were flushed, and her palms were sweaty.

'"Okay Leena, lock your door, put the crossword puzzle away, tidy up and then you can look inside." She spoke loudly to herself while breathing through her meditative exercises.

She distracted herself for as long as possible, before finding her way towards the living room. When she reached the glass coffee table, Leena placed the envelope on the cluttered space and her favorite Bob Ross bobble-head, along with the dragon incense burner, a pack of matches, and the scented incense sticks. God, she needed to clean up the place, she thought disgusted with the lack of order inside this crumbly apartment.

Frustrated, Leena grabbed some incense sticks, placed them on the beastly dragon and used the matches to light it up. The air filled with the scent of First Rain as she tried to clear her mind of all expectations and imagined that rain falling gently on her shoulders.

Despite its thickness, the document felt lightweight and so was her heart as she used a penknife and began meticulously opening the envelope. Leena's heart nearly imploded as she read the fine print carefully, hoping for one more chance.

"Holy shit. Shit. Shit shit." Leena shouted loudly to the empty room. The silence felt even louder, the need to reach out bubbling inside her as she eyed the Congratulations with awe.

Slipping sweaty hands into her pocket, Leena pulled out her cellphone to call the man who had made all this possible.

A shrill but crisp ringing echoed in her ears and her heart thundered rapidly with the exhilaration of it all. But she knew he needed, no deserved to be the first to know of her success.

"Hello." Brittle, but welcoming was his tone, as her dearest friend and confidant answered the phone.

"Ike, it's Leena."

A pause followed her response, and she heard the shuffling of slippers along carpet flooring.

Clunk!

Thud!

Crash!

Ike was scrambling around frantically based on the sound and she felt slightly bad for waking him up.