✧˖*°࿐
Neteyam had helped Aneysa up to their room, after they had returned home.
"I want to take a nap" Aneysa told him.
"That's fine" Neteyam responded softly with a smile, "you should get some rest. In the meantime, I'll go out and get something to buy, to make dinner. I haven't topped up on groceries."
She smiles at him, "thank you."
"What for?" Neteyam asks.
"Just for being by my side" Aneysa responded.
Neteyam smiles at her, before moving in, letting his lips press gently onto her head.
Their eyes locked with a depth of emotion that words could never capture.
With a mix of anticipation and vulnerability, their lips drew closer, the world around them fading into insignificance.
As their mouths met, it was as if the universe held its breath, their emotions colliding in a dance of tenderness and passion.
The touch of their lips was gentle yet fervent, a reflection of the complex feelings that had brought them to this moment.
-
"Where are we going?" Orla asks, as she's sat in Neteyam's car.
"We are going for ice creams. Me and you need a talk" Neteyam responds.
"About?" Orla asks.
"I haven't seen you in weeks Orla" Neteyam sighs, "do you really not want to hang out?"
"No.. i don't mean it like that" Orla changed her tone of voice, Neteyam then noticing that she felt guilty for what she said, "I just thought, you'd lecture me. After today."
"Of course not" Neteyam shrugs, "you did what you had to do to make sure no one disrespects your friend. I'm proud of you, for standing up to them."
"So you're not mad?" Orla asks.
Neteyam shook his head, "I'm mad at the fact that you got hurt, when you have only just gotten better. But I'm not mad at you."
"Is.. Aneysa mad at me?" Orla asks.
"Aneysa would never be mad at you for something like this" Neteyam responds, "in fact, she had a go at the principal for punishing you and not the other kids."
"She did? I thought she was mad.." Orla responds.
"Why would you think that?" Neteyam asks.
"She was just really quiet, when she saw me. And when we got into the car. I thought that's why she didn't come along with us now" Orla replies.
"Orla" Neteyam sighs, "Aneysa is going through a hard time. And when people go through a hard time, they tend to act differently to how they really are. She is hurting, and the most we can do is just support her. Be there for her, you know?"
"I understand" Orla nods back, "it's just upsetting to see her like this. Does it upset you?"
"Of course" Neteyam had come to a stop light, before turning his head to the side to look at Orla, "it upsets me that I can't get her to smile as much as she used to. But that is what happens, when someone goes through something as horrible as this. It takes time to heal."
"Well I hope she'll heal soon. I miss her" Orla sighs.
Neteyam ruffles her hair, letting out a soft smile, "me too."
-
Evan arrived home, making his way through the door.
"You just left two hours ago. Why are you back?" His father asks.
"I've been suspended" Evan responds.
"Suspended? What for?" His father stood up out his chair and turned to face the hallway, his son stood with not a scratch on his body.
"I got into a fight" Evan replied.
His voice was fragile, as he stood looking down at his two feet.
"Well, you came home with no scratches. At least you're not useless when it comes to defending yourself" his father chuckles, before sitting back down, no longer paying attention to him.
"What are you doing here?" Evan's eldest brother walks in to the hallway, after coming from outside the back yard.
"Our little boy has finally learnt to defend himself and has now been suspended" his father answered for him.
"Oh, so you got into a fight?" His eldest brother walked towards him.
"I was just trying to help someone" Evan looked away from his brother in shame, as he responded.
"Let's test your defence skills" His eldest brother chuckled.
"Wha-? Agh!" a jolt of surprise washed over him as he felt a sharp, unexpected thud against his stomach. It was his brother's kick.
The sensation carried a mix of amazement and tenderness, as if the tiny motion had bridged the gap between them, allowing him to experience a fleeting moment of his brother's presence in a profoundly visceral way.
"Doesn't seem like you can't defend yourself that well" his brother chuckles.
"That hurt" Evan let out in a strained voice, holding onto his torso.
He blinked repeatedly, his tears threatening to fall out.
Realising he was going to be stuck at home with this for a week.
-
Neteyam and Orla spent the day together, as he took her to eat ice cream, and to one of her favourite arcade's.
"So, what now?" Orla asks, as she closes the car door behind her.
"Well, unfortunately, the fun part of today has ended. Now, I'm taking you somewhere special. Meaningful, if you ask me" Neteyam tells her.
"Where?" Orla asks.
"You'll have to wait and see" Neteyam smiles.
...
The rustle of leaves and the distant caw of a solitary crow were the only sounds, creating an eerie tranquility that seemed to envelop the entire space.
As one walked among the rows of gravestones, a sense of history and reverence seeped into every step, a reminder of lives once lived and stories now resting beneath the earth.
They had arrived to the graveyard, to meet Gorya and Thyme.
Walking passed many other lonely graves laying around, whilst Orla held one bouquet, and Neteyam held another.
"I didn't realise how scary this place was when it's dark" Orla whispers.
"It's okay" Neteyam held her hand gently, "just follow me."
They come to both, Gorya and Thyme's graves.
"Gorya.. Renrawin?" Orla reads out and then looks up to Neteyam, "they are Aneysa's parents?"
Neteyam nods, "Gorya and Thyme Renrawin."
Neteyam then looks back to both the tombstones, before he gave them a respectful bow.
Orla did the same, taking a glance at Neteyam to see whether she was doing it right or not.
He sat on his knees, Orla sitting on her knees beside him.
"You can place the bouquet down" Neteyam guides Orla's hand to place the bouquet down onto Thyme's grave whilst Neteyam placed the bouquet her had onto Gorya's.
He then began speaking, a speech that he had been practicing for quite some time,
"Mæ̀ buỵṭhrrm. Ph̀xtā. Pĕn reụ̄̀xng dī thī̀ dị̂ phūd khuy kạb khuṇ xīk khrậng c̄hạn h̄wạng ẁā khuṇ thậng khū̀ khng xyū̀ xỳāng s̄ngb s̄uk̄h mæ̂ẁā ca mī s̄t̄hānkārṇ̒ ra h̄ẁāng lūk«k̄hxng khuṇ k̆tām."
"mother in law. father in law. it is great to be speaking to you again. i hope that you are both are at peace, despite the circumstances between your children."
Orla looks at him intensely, despite not having a clue as to what he had just said.
Neteyam sighs, "I want to apologise, for what has happened to Aneysa. I promised that she'd be safe with me, and yet I let something terrible happen to her. But I need your help. I know, that you know how sorry she is for what she did, to Kavin. She didn't mean to hurt him, yet she is sat beside me every day, not being able to let herself breathe, without feeling guilty."
Orla furrowed her eyebrows at him confused, wondering what she felt guilty about.
Neteyam gave a out a pause, closing his eyes for a moment, before opening them once again.
He continued to talk, with trembling lips, "she feels guilty that she could not do anything to protect Kavin. To protect Orla, the girl who she sees as her own daughter."
Orla felt her heart sink down to her stomach.
"But I know that she feels guilty the most, because she feels that she has let you both down. Even when she tries to hide her feelings, I still know exactly how she's feeling, because I love her. But my love is not as strong as the love that you both have for her. Together. She needs both of you, as much as she needs me. And I might look stupid, sitting here and talking to the two of you to ask for help, but I can't do this on my own. I need you to give her a sign. Some comfort. Please."
Orla looks towards Neteyam, noticing that his plea sounded shaky.
She sees Neteyam keep his head hung down, a soft, quiet sob, escaping his mouth.
It was an atmosphere where words seemed both inadequate and essential, where the air itself seemed to hum with the intensity of shared feelings.
-
Aneysa rubbed her eyes, letting out a yawn, before flickering her eyes to open.
"Teyam?" She called out, realising it had gotten dark, and she had no idea how long she had been out for.
Aneysa looked around, Neteyam being nowhere in sight.
She got herself to sit up, holding her injured leg gently, letting it hang along with her other leg, on the edge of the bed, as she sat up.
As she was reaching out for her crutches, she heard the tv playing downstairs.
Her only thought being that Neteyam was downstairs.
She got herself up, walking towards the door, and made her way out.
As she walked down step by step, each step she took, the noise had felt as thought it had gotten slightly louder and louder.
But it was no longer just the television, but the sound of something quite similar.
"Daddy! Daddy! Look what I found!"
"Aneysa.. did you take that from your brothers room?"
"Yes.. I found it when I was playing hide and seek!"
"Aneysa. What did I say about taking your brothers things without asking?"
"Sorry daddy."
"Go give it back to Kavin. And apologise."
Aneysa furrowed her eyebrows, as she walked through the door of her living room, and all she could see was the back of a figure she thought she'd never see.
"Father?"
He turns himself around, before letting out a weak smile, "Aneysa. You finally made it."
"H-how?" She chuckled in disbelief, before wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
Thyme held onto her gently, before letting out a warm smile.
"I'm in a dream, aren't I?" Aneysa asks, moving away to look at him, "it is impossible for you to be here right now."
"That's right" Thyme replied, cupping onto one of her cheeks, "you look good, Lūks̄āw khn s̄wy k̄hxng c̄hạn."
My beautiful daughter.
"But I know you are feeling troubled dear" Thyme looked at her dearly.
"I'm sorry. Even when you want to be at peace, I just continue to create problems" Aneysa apologises.
"Aneysa. You know it is not your fault" Thyme tells her.
"It is. Nothing but trouble follows me constantly. Ever since I lost you.. I lost a part of myself" Aneysa gazed at him with a mixture of concern and confusion, "I gave everyone such a hard time. I gave mother a hard time."
"I know, Aneysa. But your mother and I, we don't blame you. You were still in the process of becoming an adult. And going through something that you did, you can not blame yourself anymore" He gives her an understanding look.
"I can't blame myself for something I did?" Aneysa asks.
"I can't control you, if you chose to blame yourself, Aneysa. But there is nothing to blame, if the people you have supposedly caused pain to, have already forgiven you" Thyme responds.
She shook her head, looking down, as her tears fall.
His presence provided a comforting anchor as her tears began to spill, each drop carrying the weight of unspoken words and shared moments.
As he feels the wetness from her tears, he lifts up her face to make her look at him.
"Aneysa. Kavin has already forgiven you for what has happened. But he can not forgive himself for what he has done to you" Thyme whispers to her.
"I can't forgive myself" Aneysa moves her face away from her fathers hands, taking a limp back.
Her father looks at her with the look on his face that he had many years ago, a core memory of the day that Aneysa had cried in front of him, after she had sneaked out from school.
"Aneysa. If I know something about you, I know that your heart is pure. I know that, you may do things without thinking or you may do things without realising what you're doing. But you are not the evil person, who you believe yourself to be."
Aneysa looked up at her father. Her eyes, shimmering with unshed sorrows, held a mixture of vulnerability and raw emotion as they searched his face for understanding.
"Us parents know a lot about our children. Your mother and I, we have always stood back to watch you Kavin, become the people that you are. Despite the difficulties in your life, we are very proud of you both" Thyme tilts his head and gives her and understanding smile.
"So, being guilty is something I shouldn't feel, or..?" Aneysa takes a nervous gulp, a light sniffle coming out.
"I can't, in good conscious, say yes, if you don't understand what I'm truly trying to tell you" Thyme responds.
Aneysa nods, wiping the stains of her tears on her cheek.
"Take my hand" he holds his hand out to her.
She takes one hand, limping forward again, as Thyme held both her hands, keeping her stable as she was stood up.
"Now, close your eyes" Thyme whispers.
Aneysa looks up fromher hands. She nods, looking into her fathers eyes one last time, seeing him giving her an encouraging smile, before her eyes shut gently.
She took a deep breath, in and out, before hearing her fathers next words, "now, feel."
As she took another breath, her lips parted, leaving an inch of a gap. Her chest heaps down, as she begins to feel.
"Happy birthday Kavin!" Seven year old Aneysa runs into Kavin's bedroom, at 12am.
Kavin rubbed his eyes as he sat up, whilst Thyme stood by the door, switching the lights on.
Thyme and Gorya both walked in, as Gorya held onto his birthday cake.
Aneysa got into Kavin's bed, Kavin giving her a hug, as they sang happy birthday to him.
A core memory, that helped Aneysa too feel.
...
"You can't let go!" Aneysa shouts, as she's pedalling on her bike.
"I promise, I won't let go" Thyme responds.
She giggles, as she cycles past her house, giving a wave to Kavin, who was sat at the house door step. His mother stood behind him, with a plate in her hand.
"Hi Ma! Hi Kavin!" She gives them a wave, taking one hand off the handle.
She quickly places her hand back on, continuing to ride her bike, not realising that Thyme had let go of her.
"You're doing great kid!" Thyme shouts.
She turns her head back, realising her fathers shout was from afar.
"You let go! You promised you wouldn't let go!"
"You're doing it without me Aneysa. Look!"
Aneysa looks back, down at her feet when she realises that she has been peddling herself all along.
"I-I'm doing it!"
She shouts and lets out a chuckle.
She turns her bike around, pedalling back to Thyme.
"I did it!" Aneysa shouts.
"You did it!" Thyme shouts back.
Her mother and Kavin cheering her on as she cycles back, yet her eyes were focused on her father, who gave her a proud smile.
...
Time of death, 18:44
Gorya had fallen to her knees, pulling down Kavin who was holding onto her for comfort. But that comfort was no longer needed, when Thyme was now dead.
Tears began to flow, tracing silent paths down their cheeks, each droplet a testament to the ache within their heart.
Their breath hitched in a bittersweet symphony of grief and disbelief, and their shoulders trembled with the weight of the news.
In that moment, the room seemed to shrink, the colors fading to muted shades as the enormity of the absence settled in.
Kavin held his mother closely, before looking up to Aneysa, who's back was faced towards him.
Standing just outside the hospital room, she peered through door, yet no emotion was able to cover her face, as she watched her father take his last breath.
The faces of people around.
And to hear her mother's cries, it only meant one thing.
He no longer lives.
"Aneysa."
Hearing Kavin's voice, she slowly turned around, to see her brother kneeled down, his arm around his mother, as he reached his other hand out to her.
She took his hand, coming towards him, before she kneeled down beside him, only to feel her brothers comfort.
"Everything is going to be okay" she hears her fathers voice, "just, feel."
She closes her eyes, another breath being taken in, and back out again, before she opened her eyes again.
It was a black ceiling.
It was quiet.
She sits up, looking around, realising that she had finally woken up.
"I'll be down in a moment" she hears Neteyam's voice before he walks in, his fingers taking a hold of the switch, before he turns around to find Aneysa up.
"Hey, I thought you were still asleep" Neteyam smiles.
"I was" she whispers, with a nod.
He notices the tear that ran down her cheek and came towards her, sitting himself onto their bed.
"What happened? Is everything alright?" Neteyam asks.
She looks down at herself, "I think so."
"Aneysa?" Neteyam calls out.
She looks back up at him, a smile appearing on her face, before she brings her arms around him, resting her head onto his shoulder.
Neteyam felt slightly confused, but held her from her waist.
"Teyam" she called out to him.
"What is it?" Neteyam asks.
"I love you" she whispers.
"I love you too, my love" Neteyam responds.
She smiles, burying her face into his collarbone as she held onto him tightly.
And despite his confusion, he holds onto her tightly, placing a gentle kiss onto her head.
-
✧˖*°࿐
Yea the hold my hand and feel was ib barbie, because my Bae just needed to feel.
also this chapter took me forever to write.