“I'm not,” Joel had replied Isabelle.He kept his gaze ahead as he continued. “I'm not any different from my friends and I tell myself that every day. The fact that I had no hand in all they did doesn't excuse the fact that I knew and kept my mouth shut. If I can say sorry over and over again to those who have suffered at our hands, I would. “Until now, I didn't realize how bad my silence had been. I used to think as long as I wasn't involved, my sins were less. But as time led on, I realized I had played a bigger role in everything.“Hearing Loveth talk about what we had done to Tope... It, it made me sad and I want to apologize. I want to let her know I didn't mean for any of those things to happen to her, but I don't think she'll listen. She must be too hurt to want to even see my face.”There were no words to make this better, to make him feel better. His silence was his mistake, his sin and it was great. If only he had spoken up, Tope might still be a scholarship student. She wou
Jemina's security man had let them in and after the driver parked, they got out and was led into the living room — a vast room with beige-painted walls and white wainscotting.A framed portrait of a mean-looking man in decorated militant uniform dominated the position above the plasma TV. It was obvious that that was the man of the house, Jemina's dad.There were other photos of the whole family, and in all of them, the retired sergeant's lips never twitched. It was somewhat unnerving and Isabelle hoped the man wasn't as mean as the pictures told.Although, there was one amusing detail about Jemina's dad. The man had retired to become an aquarist.“Sit wherever you want,” Jemina told them and started rambling. "Gloria isn't around. Gloria's like the house help around here, but she's more of family. But don't worry; I'm sure she must have gone to the market. I'll go get something for you guys to drink."
¶¶Tears, tears go away.Why must you come back almost every day?You remind me of my pain.You remind me of my past...~ Stephany Manfull (Tears, tears go away)¶¶Loveth was from a good Muslim home. Her father had taught her to do good to others; to prove to the world that not every one of them saw the worse in others or yearned to eliminate others of diverse faith.Every religion had people who upheld their belief than the Almighty, but Loveth's father taught her not to be like these people. He counselled her and would proudly say he had done a good job alone.Sadly, Loveth believed she had trampled on his teachings and ruined his reputation.When she was ten, her mom abandoned her and her two younger siblings (a boy and a girl) with her dad. The plan had been to g
It'd be unnatural to say Loveth wasn't scared, because there was no certainty that their plan would work. A lot could go wrong. The network could become faulty. The others could get scared and either hesitate or go home. The bug could even be discovered by Mr Stanley.She had thought of all the what-ifs; but having them here with her, ready to take the risk, had eased her burden and motivated her.Despite being grounded, Isabelle was here and ready to help. Even though she had misinterpreted the situation when she first found out, she had realized her wrong, accepted it and wanted to help. If it wasn't for Isabelle, Loveth wouldn't be taking this big step.Jemina was truly a good friend. She had always been there for her, never judged her and helped in whatever way she could. And here she was, again, ready to help.Joel had
“Loveth? Loveth!” Jemina shouted at the phone and then turned to the others. “Oh my goodness. What should we do?”They had heard Loveth yawn and then mumble something. Then, the call had ended, causing them to panic even more.“We should, uh, we should...”Isabelle was panicking too much that she didn't know what to do or say.Before she could gather her thoughts, Joel began running toward the house.“Isabelle!” Jemina yelled.Her heart was beating fast as she was unable to move her legs. Loveth was clearly in danger, and she was hesitating, why?“Isabelle!”She finally broke out of her trance to see Jemina had taken off her glasses and was crying.
¶¶The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
“Joe, I thought you said you had my raisin bread in the fridge?” Isaac turned from the refrigerator as he shut it.“I do,” Joel paused from his conversation with Isabelle to answer.“Well, I don't see it.” Isaac scowled.“Isn't that what Loveth is eating?” Jemina pointed at Loveth, who was sitting on the blue egg chair Joel had decided to add to the living room, courtesy of his friend's bugging him for the need of extra seats.Loveth stopped chewing and squeezed the mouth of the bread's nylon as she faked an innocent look.“Loveth!” Isaac yelled and ran towards her while she got up to run from him, but didn't get far since the room was that spacious.It was like watching a comedy film as the two fought for ownership of the bread.A few days ago, when they had first been invited to Joel's place, they had found it gloomy, especially with the white and black walls, no
When Joel had asked Isabelle if she hated him, at that moment, she honestly had no answer — for him or herself. But the day after, when they arrived at school, she had been sure of what to say.Many times, people did and believed in outrageous things not because they wanted to, but because it's that belief or thing — no matter the source — that gives them a sense of normalcy.There was no doubt Joel had done something wrong by keeping his mouth shut. If he had spoken up, maybe Tope would have led a better life.Or... Maybe if he had, Tope still would have carried on without giving him a listening ear.But they could never really know for sure and it'd be wrong to keep dwelling on the past.If we all could try to look beyond the wrong done and, rather, look upon the apologetic heart — as Loveth had done in the hospital — we'd not only cease to save for ourselves the rot, called 'anger' but also