Masked Twilight

We Must Have Hope

Rusl's POV

Exhausted, I place my bandana on the dresser and rub my forehead. I swear, three new lines appeared in the last week. As I slip off my shirt, Uli emerges from the bathroom, buttoning up her pajama shirt.

"It's been so long since I could fit in this," she says wistfully, patting her sides and stomach.

I grin. "Stunning, as always." We share a brief kiss as she passes by.

My phone vibrates on the dresser and I pick it up immediately, flicking to my texts. As expected, there's a message from Agent Bertly.

I'm sorry, but the coded message doesn't make any sense. Maybe it means something to Link, but we need more information to understand it. Your son decoded it?

My heart is stabbed again, though in my mind I knew this. I knew nothing would come of the strange code, but I wanted so badly for it to give me something. Something to hold on to. Something concrete.

I'm typing a response when Uli takes the phone from my hand and sets it face-down on the dresser. She takes my face in her hands and makes me look at her. I lay my hands on hers, welcoming her touch.

"We will have answers." She says this as if it is certain. "He will come back. I promise."

"How can you promise?" I whisper.

"Because I can feel it."

I back away, releasing myself from her hold. "Feeling like something will happen doesn't mean it will, so stop saying that."

"But it's true," she says firmly.

I turn away from her and run my hands through my hair. "No. Feelings change. I need something concrete."

Uli moves to stand beside me enough to see her in my peripheral view. "How about this: Our love for Link in concrete - and he knows this. It's also a sure thing that he has doubts in his head. That's what made him run in the first place. But because he has doubts, he will doubt his decision to leave us. He will realize that our love is still with him, and he will come back." She places a tender hand on my arm.

I hang my head as my hands start shaking with all the emotions I'm trying to quell. I whisper, "Where is the proof?"

"The proof is in our hope."

I wish she would stop saying things like that, but I hold my tounge. For as long as we've been together, Uli has been right about these kind of things. I have to trust her and trust that everything will work out. But this does not ease the pain in my chest or the overwhelming grief in my head and clouding my eyes.

Sitting on the bed, I cover my face with my hands. "What are we supposed to do, Uli?"

She sidles beside me, wraps an arm around my shoulder, and lays her head against mine. "That I do not know."

I intertwine my fingers with hers, engulfing her small hand. She gives me a long, emotional kiss.

The baby stirs in her crib, then begins to cry. Sighing, Uli separates herself from me and gently takes Cimberly into her arms. As she bobs her up and down, she looks at me with a tired expression. Many long, grievous nights are ahead of us.