FOREVER MINE.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The bulb in the dining room blew and the light grew dim. Richard wandered his eyes around the dim cheerless room and then raised his eyes to the flicking light and his face twisted,

"Why did it have to be now? I Just replaced these bulbs a few days back. This is out of the ordinary." He said in a moment of candour. 

"I will light the candle, uncle." Suggested Esther as she headed to the kitchen. In a moment, she returned with a burning candle and placed it on the candlestick in the middle of the table and took a seat beside Melissa. There was a silence that cast a cloud of fear in everyone's heart. Esther clapped her hands on her lap and kept bestowing a glimpse up the stairs with an anxious expression on her face. "Crikey, why isn't Auntie coming down?" She wondered and a feeling of suspicion crept over her.

"Esther,won't you serve yourself dinner? The food is getting cold." Richard's voice jolted her out of contemplation and she put a small portion of casserole and a little rice on her plate although this was her favourite dish. The absence of Jina at dinner diminished her appetite and she kept gazing at her meal for some time. Richard sat quietly. The look on his face was a definite sign that something wasn't right. He had confounded Jina a while ago, and gauging on her reaction he could only anticipate an ugly outcome. Mercy flicked her eyes from plate to plate and noticed that none of them seemed interested in the meal though delicious it appeared to be.

"Dad, "Mercy broke the silence.

"Mhm," he replied, raising his eyebrows.

"Isn't mom coming down for dinner?" She asked and gazed at him as she waited for his response

 This was a complicated question that he would need profound wisdom to be able to answer. He lifted his face and looked at all of them in turn and then said,

"You girls eat your food. Mom will be here in a moment."

 They lowered their eyes on the plates and tried to swallow some morsels. Richard flicked a nervous glimpse at them and was bitter. He was aware that it wouldn't be easy to placate them unless he invented a lie.

This way, he was able to deftly avoid a set of other questions that roamed in their minds. He kept dabbing the food with a fork and added more pepper to it to boost his appetite until Esther thwarted him. 

"Uncle, they say too much pepper can crash the intestines." They all giggled. Richard, feeling embarrassed, placed the pepper pot back on the table and reckoned, 

"I don't think it's true, but anyway, I  was just wrapping up."

"Dad!" but you barely touched your food. Wasn't it obvious that he had been pretending? He had hardly gulped more than a morsel down his throat because every time he tried, his stomach raised at the gritty reality of Jina's situation in the room; the same room that would have to accommodate both of them despite the rift between them.

"In my years, I have eaten more than enough. Until you have taken in the same amount, I won't add on."

 He said and deserted his food. They giggled and one by one they left the table.

Richard walked across to the living room and sat in the voluminous chair. He lifted his face and his eyes sighted the large flame hanging on the wall on the opposite end. It was their wedding photograph. He recollected all the happy moments with Jina that day and his face brightened. Nevertheless, the reverie didn't last for long. As soon as he reflected on the current state of matters, the glimmer on his face fell away forthwith and his face turned frightened.

He didn't realise that Esther had been staring at him until she coughed. He twisted his face and looked at her knitted eyebrows surprised and asked, 

"Why are you frowning your face at me, dear?"

She blushed  and smirked and then  responded, 

"Don't worry, uncle. Everything will be fine soon." She rubbed her hands together and gazed at him, her luminous eyes depicting a tinge of sadness. Richard felt touched. Her words were kind of a healing balm to his aching heart. There was profound hope in them. She was an exceptionally bright young girl. Everything about her character impressed him.

"Come here," With a smiling face, he beckoned her to his side. Esther approached and he held her hand. 

"You are amazing, Esther. I am proud of you, my dear." She creased a smile and then in a sad tone replied, "Sorry, uncle. I.."

"No," he hushed her with his finger which he placed on her lips and resumed,

"You did nothing. You have nothing to worry about. Now promise me that you won't give up and you will fight on no matter what and you will never turn your back on us. You are my child just like Mellisa and Mercy, hmh?" Esther nodded.

 Peace welled in her heart. She felt rejuvenated by his words. They were like a draught of water in a desert. Despite the circumstances, she felt that she still had a shoulder to lean on and she looked at him with passionate eyes. Richard turned his face and studied her facial features. For the first time, he noticed some resemblance; the dazzle in her eyes was as exact as his father's. 

"How odd! This can't be possible!

She is Jina's niece." He muttered, marvelled by the close likeness.

 Richard rubbed his eyes and gazed at her keenly, but the same sparkle was still there. He was intrigued by this correspondence, but then perceived it as his imagination.

Esther kept peeking at him and started to feel some discomfort."Why is he looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with my face?" She wondered and quickly wiped her face with her hand. The next time she looked at him he was lost in thought.

"Dad,"   Mercy awakened him with a poke on his shoulder and joined the pair, and so did Mellisa. They had just had a bath and had come to wish him goodnight.

He jerked slightly, bulging his eyes and croaked, "Oh, you are here."

"Yes, dad, but you were lost in the woods." 

"What?"

The girls smirked and they kissed him goodnight and headed to their rooms. He gazed at them, his face smiling until they vanished. They were his consolation, and he loved that Esther too was now part of them. He shifted his gaze to the staircase and agony crammed his heart. "How will I  approach you, Jina?" He muttered,  got on his feet and as he proceeded to his room, his heart froze in his chest as one that had just lost a battle.