The stars graced the dark sky while the moon sat pretty amidst them. The cold breeze hit our faces while the carpet grass gently tickled our skin.
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The wind blew the tree branches, making a rustling sound as they moved in a side-to-side motion. Nature was at its peak tonight and I might not have enjoyed its beautiful splendour as I did tonight.
I let out a deep breath. A deep, contented breath with my head rested on his chest. I looked up at his face that was focused on the sky and back at the night sky view before I spoke.
“I love this little life.”
“This life to me is more than little, Cora. It is everything to me,” his words were heavy and deep, sinking into the innermost part of me.
“Do you love me that much?” I asked even though I knew the response to the question. He bent his head a bit and kissed my forehead before he responded.
“I love you more than life itself.”
“What was life to you before you met me?” This was one of the questions I enjoyed asking him whenever we had some alone time. It was a question he had answered more than a hundred times and he never got tired.
He giggled before responding.
“Life was void. Just like the earth was before God created man and every other thing in it, that was how life was before I met you. Life was not worth living but you brought in that worth. It had no meaning but you brought that meaning to me. I thought there was nothing left for me. Like no good was left for me but you changed that narration when you came into my life.”
This was his exact response every single time with no addition or removal. With no extra words or use of synonyms except for a few conjunctions. This was just his pure heart pouring out to me every single time and I was never tired of hearing him say it all to me.
“Yeah. That night while it rained heavily and you sat by the trash can with your knees folded up to your chest, drenched in your hoodie. Thinking about that now saddens my heart. Even though you aren’t willing to tell me what happened,” He has never been able to tell me what happened to him that night since we’ve been dating for six months. I have tried not to suppress the urge to know and respect his decision not to speak but I still want to know him all.
I raised my body from the grass and leaned up to stare directly at him but he couldn’t contain my stare so he looked away.
I played with his beard and slowly turned his face to mine and we both stayed silent and stared in love at each other.
“That night…”
“Will!” We heard his mum call and I must say I had almost forgotten we were at his parent's house for dinner. We were too lost in each other’s world.
“Your aunt is leaving. She wants to say hi to Cora before she leaves.”
“Alright, mum. Coming over,” we both got up from the ground and walked briskly over to the house, cackling at nothing in particular.
“Hey, Aunty,” I said immediately after we got back into the house. As she stretched her hands out for a hug, Will let go of my hand.
She held me tightly in her embrace and for a moment, a flash of motherly love hit me; a thing I had never felt.
One thing Will doesn't know or that I might not have said enough was that I wasn't the only one who showed him the love he never got, he reciprocated the same to me. Being an orphan wasn’t for the weak, he showed me both love.
“I would look forward to seeing you more often, my Ava.”
“Her name is Cora, Aunty Amelia,” Will corrected softly while I had a broad smile on my face.
“That’s the name she gives to people she loves. That was our mother’s name,” Will’s mum explained, and that just made me love her the more.
“You sure will, Aunty.”
“Make sure to be good to her, William!” she said before she finally left.
While Will and I did the dishes, I asked him again what happened that night since he was unable to finish up his statement earlier.
“I really don’t want to talk about it, babe,” he retorted and I nodded with a smile.
“Take your time babe.”
I figured we all had our past and pain points. While he was still trying to recover from his, I’m glad I was at least able to be a part of his healing journey and whatever it was that happened that night can remain buried in the past.
I want nothing but Love, Care, and a positive relationship with William O’Connor, and nothing else matters.
This is my submission to the Inleo prompt suggestion for the month of May. The topic is "Love, Care, Positive Relationship....". You can join here. This is the calendar
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
Hmmn. Love in the air. Nice read.
William must be so lucky to have a lady like you. Six month and it looked like 6 years relationship. Love is cool with the right person.
Fiction or nonfiction. It was worth reading. Keep it up.
Thank you, Abdul. I feel honored you considered it worth reading.
William is indeed very lucky to have someone who understands him this much and is willing to wait until he feels safe enough to open up.
I will. Thanks again
Aww! The last line sound like wedding vows🤭 Love is sweet with the right person, as I was reading this, I was just smiling like a foolish girl 😂
I love love stories
This story had me hooked early on. The writing was tender and emotive and you presented a couple in love who were affectionate and playful with each other... and then enter the conflict: Whatever happened to Will before he met Cora?... It seems to have been something incredibly impactful to leave him feeling that life had no meaning for him and that he had no value. We wait to discover what it was and how the conflict within him may be resolved or healed... but the answer never comes. This line...
This feels like you side-stepped the issue, and thereby avoided having to develop this part of the story. Unfortunately, it leaves the story incomplete and unresolved, and so after a good start, it unfortunately left this reader feeling a little unfulfilled.
Thank you for writing in The Ink Well.
Love is a beautiful thing when it's nurtured and protected and not being abused
A romantic story. 😊 @sabrinah
It serves as a gentle nudge that within us lie personal struggles and hurts, and genuine affection means embracing and aiding one another, especially when we're fragile.