The Weight of One Night

That night completely deprived Elias of peace of mind. His body was in bed but his mind was replaying all the events that had happened like an endlessly repeating image. Every time he closed his eyes, the image of Pendo lying there in his bed came to him, the way he couldn't help himself, the sudden kiss, and the strange shiver that had seized him the moment their eyes met. It was as if some invisible force had seized them both, completely overturning his will and drowning out every rational voice in his head. Elias had always believed that reason was stronger than emotion, but the events of the previous night had completely shattered that position. When someone is close enough to you to hear their breathing, there is something hard that laughs inside you—a force that makes the impossible seem easy, and the forbidden seem deliciously dangerous. That pull scared him even more than the act itself. However, the heaviest burden was not just what had happened between him and Pendo, but the great secret he was carrying right now. Jescar—the girl he truly loved—didn't deserve to be hurt, even if it was an accident. Pendo's intentions were clear from the start, but Elias had never imagined that he could fall into that trap so easily. The thought of losing Jescar stabbed him like a knife every time he imagined the pain that would show on the girl's face if she discovered the truth. On top of all that, there was another deep secret that Ezlon had told him: that the family had chosen him, and not his brother, to marry Landanji. In his heart, he wondered, how could I fight this when even my own heart had failed me to stop it last night? The next morning, Allen could clearly see how exhausted Elias was. "My catcher, yesterday is still bothering you, isn't it?" Allen asked in a low voice. Elias shook his head, speaking weakly, "I don't even know what happened. I just wanted to walk her home. Later… I found myself not feeling well anymore." Allen took a deep breath and said, "That's how the heart works, Elias. He knew what he wanted, and you... lost the battle in that moment of weakness. It happens. But you can't keep running from this. One day you're going to have to talk to Jescar before someone else does." Those words stuck in Elias's head with more weight than even the memory of the event itself. As evening approached, things got even more difficult. Pendo was standing by the side of the road, still as if she knew Elias would take that path. As soon as their eyes met, the same jolt of electricity went through Elias's body—silently, powerfully, and in a way that had the same familiar danger. He braced himself and took a deep breath. He wanted to put an end to this before everything was completely ruined and beyond repair. "About yesterday..." He began to speak with great caution. Pendo took two steps closer, his voice low but firm without any fear. "Do you think it was just me? Elias, if you really didn't want to, you wouldn't have fallen into that trap. There's something between us that pulled. You're just afraid to accept the truth." Elias clenched his jaw in anger, and said, "Whatever it was, it wasn't right. Jescar is my peace. I can't let anything ruin our relationship." "I'm not trying to separate you from him," Pendo whispered in a low voice. "I just wanted you to be mine just once. Just once." That statement confused Elias more than anything else the girl had ever said to him. Before he could even answer, he saw Landanji running smoothly with his friends in the distance. He slowed down when he saw Elias, and their eyes met for a few seconds that made Elias feel uncomfortable. A strange cold crawled up his back. He felt like it was a sign of danger, another storm coming ahead of him, bigger and heavier than the one he was already trapped in. Desire, fear, secrets, and duty were surrounding him and choking him from every side. That was when Elias began to completely lose himself in the pool of chaos. Things became more difficult as the days went by. Every time he tried to keep his distance from Pendo, the more the force of the attraction pulled him in with incredible speed. Elias found himself living a double life; during the day he was the same calm and respectful Elias in front of Jescar and his parents, but when night fell, he turned into a slave to the secrets that were keeping him from sleeping. Pendo's last statement that he wanted to be with her "just once" turned out to be a big lie. "Once" gave birth a second time, and after a few weeks, their secret meetings by the Saza fields became inevitable. Every time they met secretly, Elias felt like he was sinking into a deep mud hole from which he could not get out, but strangely, he had no strength to stop his feet from walking towards Pendo. At the same time, the burden of Anko's words grew heavier in his head. Every time he watched Pendo laugh with joy and freedom—unaware of the storm brewing in Elias' heart—the words repeated in his ears: "If you give her a child, you will suffer." Elias watched his life as it moved quickly, and found himself fearing every passing second.