Kate yawned and gently patted Fred, who was still sleeping or, maybe, pretending to be sleeping. Fred opened his eyes gently and smiled at Kate, then gave her a forehead kiss.
"Good morning honey. How is my pearl doing?" Fred asked affectionately
" She is starving ,and it's 8:30 already. Mind cooking breakfast for her?" Kate asked
" A noble offer I couldn't dare turn down, dear. Is she not going to join me in the kitchen? I don't want her to stay alone" Fred said
" Shush. She will be fine, sweetie. Just go, you'll find her making this bed" Kate said and kissed Fred's lips.
"Okay, bribe accepted, you little shining pearl." Fred winked at Kate.
Fred got up, stretched himself and went straight to the kitchen. Kate stayed in the room. She put on her earphones and played" The night we met" by Lord Huron. It was her favorite song but that morning, it was making her too emotional so, she removed the earpieces. She could now hear Fred singing in the kitchen as he prepared breakfast. Kate loved Fred with her whole yet shattered heart. It was now their second year cohabiting, and he had been her safest place. After some minutes, she got up, walked towards a table in the room and grabbed a mirror, then sat down and started talking to herself.
"Do not overlook me, mirror. I was a heart of a butterfly, I always spread my warmth whenever and the world was colorful to me. I was that kind of woman who made heads turn. Likewise, I still do, but who cares anyway? So many were my dreams, which I never ceased to talk about, with tears in my eyes and burning passion in my heart. Can you see how beautiful I look, before even washing my face? Hahaha. Can you please take a moment to appreciate this dazzling smile, a smile that persisted despite all that happened to me? Do you want me to remind you how I ended up with this scar on my left cheek before I shatter you as they did to my heart? Okay, if you insist."
Kate heard Fred's footsteps and rushed back to the bed.
" Babe, I'm ashamed to announce that I burned the delicious heavenly omelette again!! I'm going to staaarrrtttt over." Fred said, trying to sound as if he is crying. Kate laughed. Fred burned food as if his life depended on it. He was then claiming that it was because Kate didn't help him that day. He noticed that Kate was trying to hide pain under her gleaming smile.
"Babe, what's wrong!?" Fred asked
" Go and chop onions, carrots and green peppers. I'm showing my crazy man who the real chef is." Kate said, faking a smile and ignoring his question.
" Okay, sugarplum. I'll count to 20 and if you don't come, I won't help you braid your stubborn hair tonight." Fred said and went back to the kitchen
" Alright, lieutenant colonel Fred." Kate smiled.
" Ranks don't matter at home, ma'am." Fred said, his voice echoing through the corridor.
As soon as Fred left the room, Kate began crying again, holding the mirror, then started talking to her reflection again.
" I was walking downtown on Wednesday, which was my day off. I wanted to go to the bank before going to the florist's. I was daydreaming as usual, building uncomfortable castles in Spain. Suddenly, it began to rain so heavily that I couldn't use my umbrella. I had to join others who were taking shelter in front of Forex bureau building. People began to complain about the rain ruining their day, but I didn't care since it was my day off. When the rain ceased a bit, I took my umbrella out of my shoulder bag and pulled it up. As I was about leaving, I heard someone calling me. "Sister," the man called. I stopped a bit, and he asked if I could offer him a shelter under my umbrella and escort him to his car. Handsome men were my weaknesses so, I accepted but since he was taller than me, he carried the umbrella and I carried his paper bag. When we reached to his car, he introduced himself as Arthur and gave me his business card. The rest as humans say was history"
" Twelve, twelve and a half, thirteen, ..." Fred kept counting, but in a song form, waiting for Kate to come. Kate kept crying quietly, ignoring Fred, and her face was red.
" Let me cry, old Kate, it suits me. I fell in love blindly with a monster. A filthy drug dealer and human trafficker. He blew my mind up, made me love him like crazy, only to reveal later that the woman we called matron was actually his wife. Only heavens know how I used to hide drugs in my undies, how I illegally crossed borders, how I had to sleep with some men as a way to bribe them to not put that pig in jail. No, I don't want to remember all the stupid things I did in the name of love. No, I really don't. Noooooo"
Kate shouted and broke the mirror. Fred, upon hearing crashing, came rushing. He found Kate crying, pieces of broken mirror scattered all around. Fred understood what was going on. It was the fourth mirror to be broken by her so far and, according to her doctor, it was a part of her therapy.
Fred approached Kate and rested her on his chest. She cried even bitterly as Fred gently rubbed her back and stroked her hair. She felt safe in the arms of her savior, lieutenant colonel Fred, the same way she felt when he offered her a bottle of water when soldiers of Rwanda Defense Force brought her to their barracks along with other girls who were about being trafficked. Fred, in his thoughts, was wondering how a woman could be this brave. In his life, he had never seen a broken woman who later on found strength to forgive and to love again after everything she passed through. To him, he could have shot the bastard, but Kate decided to forgive and leave the rest to the law. He remembered how afraid she was when they brought her to the barracks. He remembered how his heart had beaten for her in the days that followed and how hard it was for her to open up to him, and how she later on fell in love with him. Now that she,his rare pearl, was in his arms, no one was ever going to take her from him. Never.
" Sweetie, the old Kate is back?" Fred asked
" Yeah, she is. But I just sent her away." Kate said
" Don't you worry, your body and soul guard is here" Fred said holding her even tighter
" And he's going to burn the omelette again." Kate smiled
" Oh, my living gun." Fred said laughing and they both laughed.
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