Chapter 9
620 Words
Rumors
Rumors don’t arrive like the truth.
They don’t knock politely or ask to be heard.
They slip in quietly...through whispers, half-sentences, and careless conversations not meant for you.
Ama first heard it on a busy afternoon at the market.
The sun was high, the air thick with heat and the smell of spices. Traders called out prices, customers bargained loudly, and life moved with its usual rhythm.
Ama was selecting tomatoes when she noticed two girls standing nearby, their voices low but not low enough.
“…I’m telling you, I saw him myself,” one said.
“Saw who?” the other asked.
“That guy from here… Daniel, I think. The one who went to the city.”
Ama’s hand froze over the basket.
Her heartbeat slowed.
“He looked different,” the first girl continued. “Dressed well. Walking with a fine girl as they belonged together. ”
Ama turned slowly.
“What did you say?” she asked, her voice calm but firm.
The girls looked startled.
“Nothing,” one said quickly. “It’s probably not even him.”
Ama held their gaze.
“You said you saw him.”
The girl hesitated.
“Well… it looked like him.”
Ama forced a small smile.
“People look like people all the time,” she said lightly. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
The girls nodded, relieved.
“Yes, you’re right.”
Ama turned back to her tomatoes, her movements steady and deliberate.
Controlled.
Unshaken.
But inside…
something had shifted.
The words replayed in her mind long after she left the market.
Walking with some fine girl…
Ama shook her head as she walked home.
“No,” she whispered under her breath. “Not Daniel.”
He wouldn’t do that.
He couldn’t.
Not after everything.
Not after all the promises.
By the time she reached home, she had already convinced herself.
Rumors were just that.
Rumors.
Still, that evening, when she picked up her phone to call him…
Her fingers hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then she pressed his name.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then his voice came through.
“Hey.”
Ama felt relief flood her chest.
“Hi,” she said, trying to sound normal. “How was your day?”
“Busy,” he replied quickly.
Ama nodded, even though he couldn’t see her.
“I went to the market today,” she said, testing her tone. “Some people were talking about the city.”
“Hmm,” Daniel responded absentmindedly.
“They said it changes people,” she added.
There was a slight pause.
“Everything changes people, Ama.”
The answer was simple.
But something about it felt… distant.
Ama swallowed.
“You’ve changed?” she asked quietly.
Daniel laughed.
“Of course I’ve changed. I’m not in the same place anymore.”
Ama forced a small laugh too.
“Yes… I guess that’s true.”
The conversation drifted after that.
Light.
Careful.
Like two people avoiding something neither wanted to face.
When the call ended, Ama sat still for a long time.
The room felt the same.
Nothing had physically changed.
But inside her heart…
something no longer felt secure.
She hugged her arms around herself, as if trying to hold something together.
“Rumors are just rumors,” she whispered again.
But this time…
The words didn’t sound as convincing.
Because sometimes…
Rumors don’t come to destroy you.
They come to prepare you.
And deep down, in a place she didn’t want to explore…
Ama was beginning to feel it.
The truth wasn’t far away.
It was coming.
Slowly.
Unavoidably.
And when it arrived…
It would not ask her if she was ready.
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