Redemption

Chapter XIV

Safiye made it to the prison earlier than the assigned hour for her visit, and after going through an embarrassing inspection, she had to wait in a room with other visitors for her turn. She noticed how some were old ladies, that aged each day more with the pain of having lost a son, sisters that cried for no longer having a brother to protect each other, wives that couldn't rip their love from their hearts, and daughters that still remembered the man before the crime as the prince that protected them from the evil that they became part of. Safiye realized how the innocent people in there carried part of the weight from the punishment, and she wondered if at some point those men ever took that into consideration before committing their crime. She forgot what she was thinking when a guard called her by her last name and instructed her to come with him. She wiped the tear that had gone unnoticed, and after going through a hall she made to the visit room that had a few tables that were all already occupied by an inmate and their family, with the exception of one at the far corner on the right, that had Renato waiting for her.

Renato hesitated on whether to stand or not, afraid to be left with his arms open, but when she rushed to the table, an instinct took over him as he stood, and she collided in his chest as if time hadn't passed. He took a single breath in, and the scent on her hair brought him back to their home. He found himself in the living room, the light resting on every object in a way that gave the scene the sense of a dream. Her warmth penetrated his skin and melted the ice of loneliness in his soul. He opened his eyes one second before closing them again, to kiss her lips and taste them as if it was the first time he ever did, and with their hearts together one more time, he could feel how they were on the same beat. He breathed out returning to reality, but even if he was surrounded by white dirty walls, next to a rusty metallic table, and his feet had the weight of chains, the angel in front of him didn't vanish as he was expecting. "Safe," He whispered, "I love you," He said as he leaned to give her forehead one more kiss. "I love you, too" She said, erasing from his mind when she said the opposite.

She sat in front of him, and extended her hands over the table giving him the opportunity to hold them. "You shared with me your awakening, and I wished to share mine with you...." She said, and continued to narrate her metamorphosis from the past four years. "The first months all I could feel was the pain of a conflict within me, leading me to the decision of never thinking about it again. With my mind in silence I gave my soul the opportunity to take the control of my life, and with it I understood that knowledge doesn't exist but only experience. A person can have the perspective of knowing about life and how to live it, by memorizing what others have put into words, but in reality it will be life, the one to teach the person the meaning of those words. An exam can't be failed if the lesson hasn't been taught. I had the perspective I was constantly failing because I thought I knew everything I needed to stop what was meant to happen from happening, reinforcing the perspective I was an idiot, only to become one when I believed it, since it became something I had within, and I couldn't give myself or others any other perspective. I realized my own words were foreign to me, about how a soul can only give what it carries, because it was in that moment I truly understood what it meant. I accepted that what had happened had the purpose of helping me grow from within, instead of the superficial level I was in. It had its purpose for you as well, and it was so you could find your path like I found mine. Looking back at my time with you, I could see how everything returns to the creator. Every harm that was ever done to you would return to them, and every thing you did, in good or bad, will return to you. So I'm here to tell you that I forgive you on a very superficial level, because I can only really forgive myself for the past suffering I created for me. But there is a great Creator, who also welcomes the souls He created once they are as bright as the first day He gave consciousness to them. Each of us have our own path to Him, but because we share a connection those paths are meant to become one. I will be there where those paths meet, waiting for you to return together. I love you."

At the end they were both in tears and speechless, holding into each other's hands, aware that there will be a long time until they can touch again. A guard approached the table to let them know they only had five minutes left. The pressure of not having much time, helped Renato recover his voice, and he asked Safiye if she could come to his execution, wishing for her face to be the last thing he sees. "I'll be there for you," She said, becoming the last thing he heard from her. He kissed her forehead before pulling her into his shaking arms, "I love you."