Proserpina
491 Words
I shrugged my shoulders in resignation. I was secure now in the serene hills, my children were looked after...maybe I should take up Brian’s offer?
The soft patter of bare feet on the stone floor caused me to turn around in some surprise. Rarely was I required to attend to any task after dusk. It was already time for supper.
A young nun stood in the doorway, her pretty pink face glowing as she smiled shyly at me.
"What is it, Sonal?' I asked gently for I recognized her as one of the young girls who often helped in the kitchens.
"Memsaab," whispered the young girl, "someone has come to meet you."
Meet me?
I frowned in puzzlement. Who would come to meet me? It had to be about the small conclave to be held in town next week. All the arrangements had been made; I had personally spoken to the organizers but perhaps there were some things remaining to be attended to.
I sighed and stood up. Perhaps someone who wanted to discuss the arrangements for the monks who were visiting next week, their stay in the monastery further up in the hills, I thought as I followed the girl.
Wrapping my long, heavy hair into a makeshift braid and trying to mould it into a messy bun at the base of my neck, I set off down the silent corridor, indicating that she need not accompany me.
I caught a glimpse of myself in one of the ornate mirrors outside the hall as I made my way along the walled courtyard, the stones warm under my bare feet.
The image that stared back at me wasn't very flattering. Short, barely 5 feet tall, with a generously rounded figure. My body was half-hidden in the simple maroon robes that covered me, my long black hair swinging in a braid as I walked. Although I had been nineteen when the events that had made me flee the US and the birth of my twins had occurred, they had honed my wisdom. I felt older, wiser.
Brian Gaulle, the Frenchman who was now a good friend of mine, never seemed to tire of pointing it out to me.
I felt a blush rise in my cheeks as I thought of Brian, earnest and affectionate. A devout Buddhist who had rejected his Western way of living and now spent his time writing and teaching here among the serene mountains, he had made his interest in me plain. He wanted to be more than just a friend, but I was wary of admitting another man into my life. Brian had hinted at marriage on more than one occasion, yet I held back. True, my twins liked spending time with him, and at twenty-four, he was definitely a younger person I could laugh with and share my problems with...
But...my foolish heart still ached for the harsh, dominating older man I had run away from.
- Writer
