Post by Oliver on Sept 28, 2008 23:03:32 GMT -5
The thud of the Kilate’s heavy boots was lost in the splashes of the puddles along the road. The rain was thick and coming down fast, but it didn’t slow him down as he ran, his arms tightly clutching the small Kilate child shaking in his arms. The alleyways in the city provided no protection from the rain, but they did hide the two from the public eye. Once the older Kilate had ducked into the shelter of one; Yeven leaned against the wall of a building, breathing harshly as he slid down to the ground.
The lids of his crystal blue eyes slid down as he tried to catch his breath. Quick stabs of pain erupted in his lungs as he panted and clenched his eyes tighter. The distance he’d run hadn’t been calculated but his body’s current response told him he’d pushed his limits. He could feel the hammering in his chest, unsteady and troublesome. It was not a good sign.
Thu-Thump. Thu-Thump… …Thump. Thu-Thump. Thump.
A small sob sounded by his stomach where the child’s head was buried and the child the Kilate held shook almost uncontrollably. It made his eyes open slightly and he tilted his head downward, resting his gaze on the mop of shaggy black hair that covered the top of the boy’s head. Each time Yeven huffed, his stomach and chest moved and pushed the boys head to move with them.
“Kna- Knajee…” His voice was low and made his lack of breath clear, but there was a caring tone that pushed through his weariness.
The child pushed his head into the soft cushion of the Kilate’s stomach a moment, shuddering before slowly lifting his head to look up. His light brown eyes were full of tears that got lost in the rain that hit his face as he looked up into the blue orbs that stared down at him. The frightened, unsure, yet innocent look of the boy’s expression was painful to look at.
“Calm down little one…” His words were gentle and uttered as he pushed air out of his aching lungs. A hand moved to gently rest on the small boy’s head, smoothing out the messy black strands.
Knajee sniffled a bit, the tears refusing to cease even after the gentle words. His face went back to the soaked brown shirt that clung to the older Kilate’s heaving torso. With a soft sigh, a palm was placed against the boy’s back and moved gently in a secure circular motion.
“It is not your fault Knajee…”
He wasn’t sure what was on the small child’s mind, but if he dared to think it was his own fault for what had happened, he was horribly mistaken. A child could not choose its mother. The blame was to be placed on Yeven for not realizing sooner what a horrid, jealous women his wife truly was. He’d never expected that the love for his son would drive her to such hatred for her own flesh and blood.
* * *
The bed was far too small for Yeven’s 5’ 8’’ frame, but Knajee had begged for his father to lay with him while he tried to fall asleep so he’d scrunched up to fit next to his 5 year old son. For a half an hour the breathing coming from the tiny form next to him had been deep and even, but he just couldn’t bring himself to move. Knajee’s small arms were wrapped around Yeven’s body, making it hard for him to detangle himself from the boy’s grip, and he didn’t want to wake him. He moved his head down a bit, gently kissing the top of the boys head before closing his eyes despite the uncomfortable position.
A slight movement from across the room and the creaking of floor boards reached Yeven’s ears and he turned his head slightly to see the form of Kaza, his wife, staring at the bed and its occupants. Her long brown hair framed her face as she looked into the room with an odd look that Yeven caught every once in a while when she thought he couldn’t see. It was a cold, distant kind of look that made her usually soft hazel eyes seem hard and unfeeling. It unnerved him, but he caught only a quick glimpse of it, for it was gone as she saw his blue eyes gazing at her. With a quick turn, she disappeared from the doorway and he could hear her steps echoing in the hall.
Moments later, his own steps were sounding in that same hall once he’d pried himself from his son’s grip and silently slipped from the room. The kitchen light lit up the section of the hall up ahead and he Yeven quickly poked his head into the entrance to the right of the hall, catching site of Kaza sitting at the old rickety table that needed to be replaced but couldn’t be due to financial problems.
“Feeling left out?” Yeven asked as he slipped into the chair next to hers. His voice was light and there was a soft playful grin on his face. Kaza didn’t look at him. “You said you did not want to come.”
“I expected you to be in bed a good while ago, Yeven,” Kaza chided sounded cross and a bit disappointed.
Yeven’s grin faded as he gazed upon his wife with a bit of a bewildered look. She couldn’t be angry with him over something so small and unimportant, could she? She had to be able to understand that he’d gotten lost in the moment with the child he had helped bring into the world. She knew what it was like, so how could she be angry.
“Oh Kaza…” He sighed, “Do not be angry with me. I couldn’t bring myself to disturb him when he was sleeping so peacefully there. I was afraid if I moved he would awaken. You know that I would never purposefully keep you waiting, Love.”
A hand brushed through the back of her hair and he leaned forward to sneak a kiss on her cheek. Her head turned to him instantly and he could see her anger wash away as her lips came to his. He still could not understand how she could hold hard feeling towards something so trivial in the first place.
“Next time come with us…”
“I do not think the bed would hold all three of us. I will wait in our room.”
Why did she always do this? It was as if she tried to isolate herself. Yeven did not think he could remember her ever tucking Knajee in when he was around. It was rather odd, as if the moment he came home he became the prime care giver. It was something he didn’t understand and had questioned it many a times but she became defensive and denied that she did so. Sometimes she would become so upset at his accusation that she distanced herself that she would not talk to him for a bit of time, and that was something he never liked.
“Come to bed…” Kaza said quietly, getting up in a manner that said she didn’t want to go into further discussion. “And don’t forget your medication, “ She added quickly, before leaving the room.
Yeven waited several minutes before heading after her, giving the illusion that he’d done what had been said. In truth he hadn’t taken the pills for over a month now. The cost was far too great and was killing the family’s income, starting to take its toll on things such as food and necessities, which he felt was far more important. Kaza would be furious if she found out, but it had been easy to elude her.
His plan was to take it easy. If he didn’t strain himself he
should be fine, though from time to time he could feel the fist sized organ acting up inside his chest, making him out of breath and weary. For the most part he did his best to hide it for his family’s sake.
***
“How are you feeling?” Kaza’s voice was thick with concern as she looked her husband up or down. He looked a bit pale to her, though she often jumped to the worst case scenario when it came to his health. She worried, and worried very often about the tall, gentle man she cared for so dearly.
It had been a little over a year since she’d walked into the kitchen to find him sprawled on the floor with their son wide eyed beside him. His beautiful blue eyes refused to open and his chest heaved at the pathetic gasps for air that did little to satisfy his lungs hunger. Neither Kaza nor Knajee had been able to wake him.
Yeven’s luck had been great that day when he pulled through the heart attack that came close to stealing him from both wife and child, but Kaza feared it would happen again. The source of the problem had not been fixed. Yeven’s heart, they were told, was slowly weakening, and this attack was predicted to be the first of many without proper surgery and care that could prove to be far too expensive for the family’s low income. They had settled of a cheap brand of medicine, though by all means it was still expensive and was not said to work as well as the other brands, but they had to make due, and Yeven had simply been trying not to exert himself.
The lids of his crystal blue eyes slid down as he tried to catch his breath. Quick stabs of pain erupted in his lungs as he panted and clenched his eyes tighter. The distance he’d run hadn’t been calculated but his body’s current response told him he’d pushed his limits. He could feel the hammering in his chest, unsteady and troublesome. It was not a good sign.
Thu-Thump. Thu-Thump… …Thump. Thu-Thump. Thump.
A small sob sounded by his stomach where the child’s head was buried and the child the Kilate held shook almost uncontrollably. It made his eyes open slightly and he tilted his head downward, resting his gaze on the mop of shaggy black hair that covered the top of the boy’s head. Each time Yeven huffed, his stomach and chest moved and pushed the boys head to move with them.
“Kna- Knajee…” His voice was low and made his lack of breath clear, but there was a caring tone that pushed through his weariness.
The child pushed his head into the soft cushion of the Kilate’s stomach a moment, shuddering before slowly lifting his head to look up. His light brown eyes were full of tears that got lost in the rain that hit his face as he looked up into the blue orbs that stared down at him. The frightened, unsure, yet innocent look of the boy’s expression was painful to look at.
“Calm down little one…” His words were gentle and uttered as he pushed air out of his aching lungs. A hand moved to gently rest on the small boy’s head, smoothing out the messy black strands.
Knajee sniffled a bit, the tears refusing to cease even after the gentle words. His face went back to the soaked brown shirt that clung to the older Kilate’s heaving torso. With a soft sigh, a palm was placed against the boy’s back and moved gently in a secure circular motion.
“It is not your fault Knajee…”
He wasn’t sure what was on the small child’s mind, but if he dared to think it was his own fault for what had happened, he was horribly mistaken. A child could not choose its mother. The blame was to be placed on Yeven for not realizing sooner what a horrid, jealous women his wife truly was. He’d never expected that the love for his son would drive her to such hatred for her own flesh and blood.
* * *
The bed was far too small for Yeven’s 5’ 8’’ frame, but Knajee had begged for his father to lay with him while he tried to fall asleep so he’d scrunched up to fit next to his 5 year old son. For a half an hour the breathing coming from the tiny form next to him had been deep and even, but he just couldn’t bring himself to move. Knajee’s small arms were wrapped around Yeven’s body, making it hard for him to detangle himself from the boy’s grip, and he didn’t want to wake him. He moved his head down a bit, gently kissing the top of the boys head before closing his eyes despite the uncomfortable position.
A slight movement from across the room and the creaking of floor boards reached Yeven’s ears and he turned his head slightly to see the form of Kaza, his wife, staring at the bed and its occupants. Her long brown hair framed her face as she looked into the room with an odd look that Yeven caught every once in a while when she thought he couldn’t see. It was a cold, distant kind of look that made her usually soft hazel eyes seem hard and unfeeling. It unnerved him, but he caught only a quick glimpse of it, for it was gone as she saw his blue eyes gazing at her. With a quick turn, she disappeared from the doorway and he could hear her steps echoing in the hall.
Moments later, his own steps were sounding in that same hall once he’d pried himself from his son’s grip and silently slipped from the room. The kitchen light lit up the section of the hall up ahead and he Yeven quickly poked his head into the entrance to the right of the hall, catching site of Kaza sitting at the old rickety table that needed to be replaced but couldn’t be due to financial problems.
“Feeling left out?” Yeven asked as he slipped into the chair next to hers. His voice was light and there was a soft playful grin on his face. Kaza didn’t look at him. “You said you did not want to come.”
“I expected you to be in bed a good while ago, Yeven,” Kaza chided sounded cross and a bit disappointed.
Yeven’s grin faded as he gazed upon his wife with a bit of a bewildered look. She couldn’t be angry with him over something so small and unimportant, could she? She had to be able to understand that he’d gotten lost in the moment with the child he had helped bring into the world. She knew what it was like, so how could she be angry.
“Oh Kaza…” He sighed, “Do not be angry with me. I couldn’t bring myself to disturb him when he was sleeping so peacefully there. I was afraid if I moved he would awaken. You know that I would never purposefully keep you waiting, Love.”
A hand brushed through the back of her hair and he leaned forward to sneak a kiss on her cheek. Her head turned to him instantly and he could see her anger wash away as her lips came to his. He still could not understand how she could hold hard feeling towards something so trivial in the first place.
“Next time come with us…”
“I do not think the bed would hold all three of us. I will wait in our room.”
Why did she always do this? It was as if she tried to isolate herself. Yeven did not think he could remember her ever tucking Knajee in when he was around. It was rather odd, as if the moment he came home he became the prime care giver. It was something he didn’t understand and had questioned it many a times but she became defensive and denied that she did so. Sometimes she would become so upset at his accusation that she distanced herself that she would not talk to him for a bit of time, and that was something he never liked.
“Come to bed…” Kaza said quietly, getting up in a manner that said she didn’t want to go into further discussion. “And don’t forget your medication, “ She added quickly, before leaving the room.
Yeven waited several minutes before heading after her, giving the illusion that he’d done what had been said. In truth he hadn’t taken the pills for over a month now. The cost was far too great and was killing the family’s income, starting to take its toll on things such as food and necessities, which he felt was far more important. Kaza would be furious if she found out, but it had been easy to elude her.
His plan was to take it easy. If he didn’t strain himself he
should be fine, though from time to time he could feel the fist sized organ acting up inside his chest, making him out of breath and weary. For the most part he did his best to hide it for his family’s sake.
***
“How are you feeling?” Kaza’s voice was thick with concern as she looked her husband up or down. He looked a bit pale to her, though she often jumped to the worst case scenario when it came to his health. She worried, and worried very often about the tall, gentle man she cared for so dearly.
It had been a little over a year since she’d walked into the kitchen to find him sprawled on the floor with their son wide eyed beside him. His beautiful blue eyes refused to open and his chest heaved at the pathetic gasps for air that did little to satisfy his lungs hunger. Neither Kaza nor Knajee had been able to wake him.
Yeven’s luck had been great that day when he pulled through the heart attack that came close to stealing him from both wife and child, but Kaza feared it would happen again. The source of the problem had not been fixed. Yeven’s heart, they were told, was slowly weakening, and this attack was predicted to be the first of many without proper surgery and care that could prove to be far too expensive for the family’s low income. They had settled of a cheap brand of medicine, though by all means it was still expensive and was not said to work as well as the other brands, but they had to make due, and Yeven had simply been trying not to exert himself.