Berceuse for The Suffering (Complete)

3. {Mute}

Keeping a secret is a heavy burden but not as heavy as facing the consequences that could arise from it. That had been her mantra for the past twenty years. Latifa Mercedes sighed and shook her head as she handed a plate of freshly baked cookies to her husband.

"Give it a rest Latifa, her husband warned as he watched her walk toward their living room window again.

Latifa threw a glance at her husband who was stuffing a cookie in his mouth, rocking his chair without a care in the world. But deep down, Latifa knew he cared. He just decided a long time ago not to speak of the things they knew.

"She's back you know. Latifa murmured as she eased their black curtain to the other side of the window, revealing a clear view of the outside.

"We've already kept our mouth shut for two decades love. Besides, what's the point in speaking now?" Her husband chided.

Latifa shook her head. The only reason she kept her mouth shut was that she lacked the evidence needed to prove what they knew. But now...

"Latifa, close the curtain and take your seat beside me. Leave it alone," her husband commanded again. But she couldn't will herself to leave the window.

"Latifa!" Her husband's voice bounced off walls and echoed inside their house. It startled her and almost gave her a heart attack.

"How can you seat there knowing we can do something about this?" She snarled.

Her husband rarely left the comforts of his rocking chair. It was an understandable action because he was a sixty-nine-year-old man. His bones ached daily and refused to perform extraneous actions. But at that moment, he left his seat and waltzed toward her like a pit bull out for blood. He grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the window.

Latifa wasn't a weak woman, although she too was in her sixties. She could have easily pushed her husband and had it her way. But she allowed his action at that moment. She is perhaps stubborn, but she understood. Oh yes, she understood.

After dragging his wife away from the window and having her take a seat beside his rocking chair, Antonio Mercedes shook his head and said, "Leave it alone. I'm begging you to leave it alone."

His wife did not respond. He knew the truth had been eating Latifa for years. It ate him up too. However, he needed to protect his family. What Latifa thinks she knows was indeed true. However, she missed an important detail on the night they witnessed this so-called truth. She missed the thing that crawled toward that house. She had missed the fear it brought with it. And he was glad that she had. It was enough that he carried alone, the weight, the burden, and the instantaneous fear that Lylibeth Adams seeded in him.

"Leave it alone, love. I'm begging you." He pleaded again as he sat himself on his rocking chair once more.

Latifa fell silent. She supposed humoring her husband was long overdue. She'd heed his request. For now. She'd continue her perusal of what transpires in her neighbor's house after he falls asleep.

As the sun slowly sets, and the wheezing sound of her husband's breathing echoed inside the room, Latifa gingerly pulled the lace curtains away from her window. Her watery gaze cautiously surveyed the peaceful neighborhood street beyond her front yard. Then her eyes came to a sudden halt on the windows of the house adjacent to hers. There she saw her, Lylibeth, she looked sad and her eyes were red, rimmed with tears, standing motionless in front of the window. Latifa felt like she had to reveal the truth. The young woman had suffered too much. The Adams drove her to insanity and for what? To feed Linda's inability to cope?

The atmosphere was quiet, the evening air was still, and the silence was only broken by the soft sound of sobbing coming from the weeping woman next door. Latifa felt the weight of the emotions on her chest as the sight deeply moved her heart. Had that woman found out the truth? She wondered.