Danika

Chapter 26

Danika:

Danika looked over at Adamina digging her fingers into the soil in search of more potatoes to pull up. When she raised her gaze to look at her Danika quickly looked away. She'd have to decide what to say to her soon, far too soon. She wasn't ready for the consequences. 

What if she told Adamina she liked her? Would they get together? What if someone found out? They'd both be disgraced and become outcasts together. 

That wouldn't be too bad, as long as she still had Adamina next to her. Danika would rather walk through the seven gates of hell than never see Adamina again. She didn't care that my dad, and probably everyone else she'd ever known, thought that it was an abomination. She loved Adamina, and how could love be wrong?

She didn't really have a choice, but Danika was terrified of what Adamina might think. What if she found the hiding to be too much? What if she left her? She didn't know what she'd do if that happened, but it was Adamina's life, not just hers, and she might not want to live a life in secret.

Too focused on her own thoughts, Danika hadn't noticed that Adamina was slowly and steadily moving towards her, taking a potato plant one row closer to her for every time she picked one up to clean the worst of the dirt off and throw in the wheelbarrow. Adamina must've been at it for a while already when she noticed. 

Danika didn't know what to do with herself as Adamina came slowly closer. Even though she tried, Danika wasn't able to say a single word. She felt flustered and she could feel her cheeks getting warmer. By now Adamina was only about two and a half meters away from her and she had no idea how to react, or if she should even do something at all.

Scratching away dirt from the same potato she'd been working on for the last ten minutes, Danika tried to stop thinking about Adamina, who was right next to her now. Who Danika thought she might be in love with. Who would surely leave her for some man purely for the sake of a shield from all the unwanted questions. All the unwanted stares and barrs from restaurants.

Who was she kidding, Danika was the one who was gonna do that. Not for her own comfort, not to escape from the questions and stares, but so as not to hurt her father, to break his heart. All of his family was dead except for one brother. And he'd lost her mother, too. She was far too young to die, but this world's cruel ways knew no ends. 

Now, Danika's father, who'd previously been part of a big, bustling family and had a wife he loved to the ends of the Earth, only had her, this farm and a brother he wasn't too close to left. Danika couldn't help feeling like she was some sort of bad condolence price for everything he'd lost. 

But, she still had to do the best she could for him. Danika couldn't just run away with another girl, no matter how much she loved her. She couldn't leave her father here alone, she couldn't dissappoint him.

A/N: So... Here's the chapter I promised. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for any and all feedback and please consider voting. I hope you are all safe and health with all that's been going on lately. And, even though this isn't a very happy chapter, I hope all of you who are in difficult situations right now were able to think about something else, if just for a little while. Have as good a day as you can and remember to stay happy and healthy!