An Ordinary Life

Chapter 15: Love and Confessions

     "I just don't understand it, Miraz. The markets are extremely safe. How could this have happened?" Clara whimpered, her bottom lip rapidly quivering like a sheet of paper being roughhoused in a strong current of wind. "Who would do this to our little girl?" She wailed, sorrowful rivulets of wet tears spilling down her flushed cheeks as silent as water trickling down the side of a cold glass cup. "I don't know, dear." Miraz quietly responded, his voice hardly more than a soft, faint whisper as he hugged his distraught wife close to him within the gentle grasp of his warm arms.

     Seeing his beloved, precious wife so dismayed made Miraz uneasy, but above all, Clara's constant mourning for their missing daughter moved him to the very core of his beating heart. As his hand soothingly rubbed Clara's back in gentle, spherical motions, he couldn't help but ponder about the events that had transpired over the past few months. First Isaiah goes missing, then Molly, and finally Mercy. What in the world is going on? "Clara, it'll be okay. We'll find her. The authorities are searching as we speak." Miraz gently soothed his wife, his chin perched upon the top of her head as he kept embracing her with those warm arms of his.

     "What if they don't find her? She's probably lost and scared." With a small whine, Clara tightly clutched onto Miraz, her fingertips beginning to dig into the soft, cotton fabric of his shirt. "Don't say that, Clara. We'll get her back. I just know it." Miraz planted a kiss upon Clara's cheek, his fingers gently lifting her head up so his baby blue eyes could fixate upon her like a camera focusing on an object in the distance. With his free hand, the man gingerly wiped away the tears still desperately clinging to Clara's face like a person dangling off of the edge of a slippery cliffside. "Everything will be okay." He softly soothed his wife, his warm, kind words being no more than a whisper.

     After an eternity of silence, Miraz released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, his body seeming to become more clammy and overheated the more both stress and anxiety wove its way into his system. I have to tell her. "Clara, there's something I need to tell you. I think I know who may be behind all of this, including Mercy's kidnapping." Miraz slowly announced, his insecurities going haywire within his brain like a fiery, uncontrollable explosion from a disturbed bomb. "What? Who is it?" Clara suddenly gasped, shifting in Miraz's calming embrace as her dark green gaze fixated upon her distressed lover's face. "There was a man I used to work with while delivering goods to other places. We became good friends over the years, but one day I caught him trying to smuggle illegal drugs into a foreign land that we were delivering stock to. When I warned him that I would tell our boss about what he was doing, he threatened that he would make my life a living nightmare if I did. He even looked like he wanted to kill me right then and there. I didn't think he was serious, so I took a chance and tattled on him anyways. The very next day he got fired."

Clara carefully listened to Miraz's words, a slight frown forming on her face as she realized how much guilt was laden within her husband's baby blue eyes. "This is all my fault, Clara. If I hadn't gotten him fired, none of this would have ever happened. Isaiah, Molly, and Mercy would still be here if it weren't for me." Miraz's bottom lip briefly quivered before he averted his gaze away from his beloved wife, his head lowering in shame as his blue eyes focused on the living room floor as if it were the most interesting thing in existence. "Honey, this is not your fault. Don't blame yourself. You were only trying to do what was right, Miraz." Clara cupped Miraz's cheek, turning his head back around so that she could tranquilly state him in the eyes like he had done to her mere seconds ago. "Why didn't you tell the authorities what you knew about this man? It would have helped their search even more." Clara worriedly gazed up at Miraz, falling as quiet as a muted video as she awaited Miraz's unbeknownst response. "I was afraid he would find me and hurt me. He seems really unstable, especially since he's making such a big deal out of something so small as getting fired." With a frustrated groan, Miraz's fingers slid into his light brown hair as he roughly held the sides of his head in a stressed manner. "I should have spoken up when we were interviewed." He heaved a shaky sigh, his teeth gingerly biting his bottom lip as he finally met Clara's understanding green gaze. "You're not mad, are you?"

"Of course I'm not mad at you, sweetheart. Why would I be? You didn't know that any of this would have happened, and even if you did, I don't think you could have prevented it no matter what you did. I love you so much, Miraz. Everyone makes mistakes, and there's nothing you can do that won't make me stop loving you." Clara kissed Miraz on his cheek, her arms sliding around his warm torso in a hug. "It'll all be okay just like you told me. You've done nothing wrong, Miraz. You have a good heart and you were only doing what you felt was right, so please don't blame yourself." Clara rested her chin upon Miraz's shoulder, her green gaze averting to focus upon the grandfather clock constantly ticking against the opposing living room wall. 11:45 pm. Wow! It's that late already? "We should probably rest soon. It's pretty late, dear." Clara murmured. "I'm sure a good night of sleep will help take your mind off of things too." With a small nod of his head, Miraz finally released Clara from his hug, a small smile forming on his face as he hoisted himself off of the comfy sofa behind him. "I agree." He quietly responded, another fond smile causing his mouth to curve upwards as he took Clara's hand and went upstairs to their bedroom with her.