Page 158 of Stars in Umbra
Her truth lingered at the tip of her tongue, but still she hesitated.
She didn’t want to compromise the mission by throwing a late-stage whammy into it.
So she refrained from speaking and nestled in, taking strength in their bond and in his silent, comforting clasp, confident they would endure past this storm.
RINA
That evening at the farmhouse, Mo was stirring a pot of herbed stew beside Hanna when she reached for him and pulled him into a soft, impromptu hug.
She smiled into his shoulder and murmured, ‘You’re a natural, son.Santefor helping.’
He froze.
The spoon slipped from his hand and clattered onto the counter.
He picked it up, placed it in the sink, mumbling an apology.
With an abrupt swivel, he loped out of the kitchen, movements uneven, breath jagged.
By the fire, Rina glanced up from her book.
Her eyes tracked from her mother’s gentle confusion to Mo’s retreating silhouette disappearing through the hallway. She closed the pages on her lap and knifed up.
‘What did I do?’ Hanna asked, her face pinched with concern.
‘Nothing wrong, mama. You just showed him that he’s cared for and loved,’ Rina said as she stood. ‘He’s probably not used to it and doesn’t know what to do with all the emotion it brings. You might have also reminded him of what he’s missing, living without a mother.’
After stroking her mum’s arm in reassurance, Rina padded after her man, barefoot, following the open door and the ripple of cool evening air.
She found him outside, on the terrace.
Bare feet set apart on the flagstones, arms crossed tight over his chest, his gaze tilted skyward, unblinking.
Rina moved to him without a word, slipping her grasp around his middle from behind and resting her cheek on the solid curve of his back.
They stood like that for a few minutes before Mo stirred.
‘Hanna reminds me of my mother,’ he rasped, emotion raw in his timbre. ‘She was kind. Generous. She saw the best in me, and Ifokkinmiss her.’
His voice cracked.
Rina tightened her hold. She pressed her lips against the seam of his spine.
‘How did she pass?’ she asked.
He inhaled through his nose, a ragged sound, chest lifting and falling unevenly.
‘She just faded,’ he said. ‘Being so far from her people, having lost everything she knew, she had little to live for other than me. She told me once she was only hanging on until I was strong enough to care for myself. When she was certain I could, she let go.’
He tilted his head, his eyes reflecting a shimmer of the stars above.
‘She said she was slipping into a new heaven, or so she claimed. Her body disintegrated into golden motes. They floated right through the window and vanished. The only thing she left was her bracelet.’
He glanced down, and Rina caught the gleam of aged gold and weathered leather around his wrist. She’d admired it a few times now and wondered about its significance.
‘I’ve worn it ever since,’ he added.
Rina brushed her lips over his shoulder. Then another kiss, just below his neck.
