I never thought that Silas and Christopher were one and the same person. No wonder it felt so foreign yet so familiar to be in Silas’ embrace. His cooking tasted familiar and he knew me well. Now I know why Lucas and Jenny were always acting weirdly around me whenever Silas was around.
As it turned out, they were trying to give us some privacy. They just wanted us to spend more time with each other.
But where is Christopher? I searched every corner in town and shouted his name again and again, but he was still nowhere to be found.
He must be mad at me for leaving without saying my goodbyes. He thought I was dead and was mad at me for not telling him about it. There were many reasons for him to be mad at me. Why else would he call me a cruel woman when he was making love to me that night?
Feeling dejected, I squatted down at the beach where we first met and sobbed. “Christopher, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I miss you. Please don’t avoid me. I’m really sorry. Please, don’t leave me.”
“Will you still hide things from me in the future?” Christopher asked in a fierce tone.
“No, never again!” I wouldn’t be crying over something I had lost if we had never met. I couldn’t bear to have Christopher leave my side ever again. I didn’t know if I could carry on without Christopher by my side during my final stage of life.
“You stupid woman, haven’t you ever considered how sad I will be without you by my side?”
I turned around and saw Christopher standing by the beach with the setting sun reflecting in the water. He looked so charmingly handsome as he stood there quietly staring back at me.
I dreamt about this man countless times. I had also imagined him standing right before me as I caress his cheeks.
“Christopher!” I stood up and looked at him doubtfully. I was even starting to wonder if I was hallucinating. Why else would he be standing motionless over there? My vision started to blur.
I didn’t realize I was crying until tears rolled down my cheeks and fell onto the back of my hand.
“Christopher, Christopher!” I shouted for him a few more times as I inched towards him. I was afraid he would disappear into thin air if I moved too quickly. My legs turned to jelly and I almost fell face down to the ground.
Christopher suddenly moved. He rushed up to me, helped me up, and pulled me into his arms. I reached out to caress his cheeks and pinched myself. This is real.
“This is not a dream,” I cried.
Christopher unclenched his fist, revealing a delicate female ring. That was my wedding ring. I was down for days on end when I first lost it. Why is it with Christopher now?
Christopher slid the ring onto my ring finger and said, “Silly woman, you forgot to take your ring with you. I found you because of this ring. I won’t let you leave my sight ever again from now on, not even for a brief moment.”
I couldn’t stand it anymore as I threw myself into his arms. We had been through a lot, but he still managed to come back to me after being separated for thousands of miles. I couldn’t bear to push him away again after all that had happened.
We lay in each other’s arms for the entire afternoon on the couch. Nobody said a word as we simply enjoyed each other’s presence. We were happy to stay by each other’s side.
I didn’t tell him about my terminal illness nor how many days I had left to live. Christopher also kept quiet about how he found me. We were doing our best to make each other happy.
It wasn’t until I received a call from Sabrina that I realized we had been spooning for the entire afternoon.
“What is it, Sabby?” I whispered.
“Eve, Christopher is nowhere to be found. The Lanes are going crazy trying to reach him.”
