Feelings of Life Torment

Untitled Episode 9

After several months, Layla recovered completely. They used to spend the day sitting in the courtyard of the house holding each other's hands. The sorrow of the past has made their hearts tighter, but deepened their relationship. John found a smile in Layla's eyes, and Layla knew that John would always be by his side—in love, in strength and in faith. They started re-drawing life. They learned from the memory of the child, the value of life in every moment. They had new dreams with each other—dreams where hope, love, and peace were filled. The night that brought fear, despair and suffering in their lives, came after the morning—with peace and the light of the new sun. Laila and John knew together that the journey of life never ends. Every loss, every suffering just makes their love harder. Surely, they knew that pain would come, but love will always be there. And it is this love that combines all the darkness of their lives with light.

The house was the same as before, but there was a void somewhere. The familiar smell, those familiar things were all right in the inner rooms, but there was a gap somewhere. Especially the small house made for their children. Layla could never open her door. Every time he stood in front of the door, looking at the small house, but he did not have the courage to enter. Accumulating dust, new toys, baby bed sheets—everything was fine, but lifeless. Layla felt that emptiness, and she felt as if her own emptiness was reflected in this room. John understood everything. He knew how deep Laila's pain was, how much it was accumulated inside like an injury. But John didn't say anything. He used to sit quietly next to Layla, sometimes holding his hand, sometimes just from close. His presence is like a silent consolation for Laila. One afternoon, it was raining. The water was just falling on the roof through the foggy fog. Layla was sitting by the window and staring outside. The shadow of that pain fell again in his eyes. John slowly came and sat next to him. "What do you think?" John asked gently. Layla smiled softly. But the sadness is evident in that smile. “I wonder… if we had the baby, maybe he would be in my lap right now. Maybe he would smile and say something to my ear. And I'd finally be the mother I wanted to be." John's chest heaved. He remained silent for a moment. Gradually he took Laila's hand softly. “Lyla… life doesn’t always give us everything,” she said, “but life also finds us a way to give something new.” Layla looked at John in surprise. A mixture of curiosity and hope in the eyes. John smiled a little. “I was thinking… can we do something that will become a small ray of light in someone else's life? Can we give a little happiness in the life of an orphan?” Layla stopped for a moment. He quietly kept an eye on John's eyes. It seemed that this proposal had touched his heart, but at the same time was a veil of fear.

"Do you really want it, John?" A gentle breath in his voice. John gently held Layla's hand tighter. "I just want one… you're happy." Laila's eyes seemed to want to say something else. A bit of hesitation, a bit of urge. Slowly he put his head on John's shoulder. "If you are by my side, I will learn to live again, John." Both of them stared quietly outside the window. The rain had stopped. A little sun was peeking through the clouds. That light was keeping the first step in the sky of their life. Light, soft, light of hope. After a few days, a new life started for them. They decided to take care of a child of the orphan as their own. The first days were not easy. The child was hesitant at first, frightened. Layla and John would reassure him together, play, handle his small difficulties. Every day little by little the child developed an invisible bond in their family. Layla could see how her mind began to fill the empty spaces of her own pain. The child's smile, his small questions, learning to walk hand in hand. Everything seems to bring a new meaning. He realized that the selfless joy of life is never hidden in imagination, but in the small moments of life. John was also delighted. Every day he looked at Laila, and felt that the smallest moments of life could give the greatest comfort. They used to laugh, play together, spend a sunny afternoon together. The small house has now taken a completely different form. Dust torn bed sheets, toys everything got a new color in life. One evening, Layla was sitting by the window watching the baby play. The little hands were smashing dust on the ground, and she was laughing at the small face. Layla's eyes watered with joy. He looked at John slowly, and he didn't have that old sadness again in his eyes. Now there is a kind of peace, a kind of new hope. "See, John?" He smiled and said, "How have we been able to give a touch of light in this short life." John smiled gently, "Look, Layla... Sometimes the greatest happiness in life comes from bringing happiness to someone else's life." Layla tilted her head and pulled John close. The play of sunshine and clouds outside the window, the child's smile, their new beginning, everything together is like the beginning of a new chapter. That emptiness of life is no more. Gradually, they transformed all suffering into love. The small house, where Layla was once afraid, now that smile, love and new beginnings are filled. Sun after rain, new hope after all the hardships of life, this was their learning.

John and Leyla's family was small but full of deep love.