In Deep Water

The Angel

Flashes of blue, green and every other colour zipped by Sofia’s eyes. The world around her was a blur of colour as she ran. Kept on running, even when her legs felt ready to explode. Ran until her door was thrown open and she threw herself on the sofa.

When the panting finally subsided, she allowed the wicked thoughts to fully infiltrate her mind.

Many times in her life she felt her world spinning. This time was no exception. She couldn’t take it.

All this death and loss had eroded her shield and left behind this frail woman who could take no more heartbreak.

And now she knew that her husband didn’t kill himself out of depression, but of sacrifice.

This news should have comforted her, but it didn’t. She had known so little and the fact that this news remained hidden all this time was almost too much to bear.

She turned to the clock. Surely it must have been many hours since she left the house with a light heart and a mild curiosity.

It had only been an hour. All that in just sixty minutes. The chasing of the taxi to the incident at the Bannered Inn. It didn’t seem real, but then, nothing in her life seemed to feel real anymore.

She curled herself more until all the lightness was gone from her sight. She would find solace in the darkness that she felt strongly in her heart right now.

She remained in this state even as the front door opened, many hours later. This state of sorrow and emptiness. Where nothing else could enter her little world, despite the protests of her aching body.

“Hi, mum. Are you asleep?”

Sofia registered the sound of her daughter’s voice but passed it off as an unwelcome dream. Sineya couldn’t be in this world of depression. It wasn’t right.

“I expected you to ask how the bus ride home was? I guess you’re tired… I’ll leave you be.”

Sineya frowned and hurried off upstairs, knowing that the only thing she could do for her mother now was be out of her sight.

Once more the door opened a few hours later and before Martin could enter the living room to greet his wife, Sineya appeared at the top of the stairs, hissing down for her father to stop.

“Mum’s not feeling alright. I don’t know what happened, but she’s been like that ever since I got home.”

Sineya wasn’t very good at keeping a hushed voice and Sofia’s ears cocked at the irritating buzz of sound coming from her family. She didn’t want to hear anyone right now. Silence was a welcome friend.

Martin nodded for his daughter to head back upstairs and he slowly made his approach into Sofia’s den of despair. As he got closer, however, he felt a strong feeling of remorse and this was all radiating off his wife. His always smiling, jovial wife. Something tumultuous happened to her today and he needed to go about this in the right way. He knew how sensitive she was and what would set her over the edge.

Dropping his bag by the sofa, he took the final step towards her so he could reach out and touch her shoulder. He could feel the tension in the air, like he was reaching to grab an item, and one false move would destroy the world.

He made that one final stretch with his fingers and they lightly brushed against her left shoulder. He instantly ripped his hand away, waiting for the explosion of anger, but instead he was vexed to find that she didn’t move at all.

“Sof… please come out of your ball.”

“Why should I?” Came a muffled response. He didn’t expect it, but was just relieved to hear her voice, less full of bile than he thought it would be.