My Brother's Widow

no soul

first time feeling nervous and embarrassed.

He stood behind her hoping that she will feel that there is someone behind her and turn around, but she did not she was like this in high school ,during their music classes she would get so lost in playing the piano that she wouldnt hear anything or anyone around her...It was nice to see that she was still passionate about music like before and that she hasn't changed much, she kept playing the piano as if there was no one there other than herself.

He tapped her on her shoulders, and she tensed a little not expecting to be interrupted, then fortunately she stopped playing, although she now knew that there was someone behind her she did not turn around or say a word which only meant that she was angry that she was disturbed,back in the days she would have thrown a tantrum if she was interrupted from her music... Blake took her silence as a chance and spoke in the most soft and gentle voice he could master and said “hi Tiana, its Blake your brother-in-law and I am here to take you home” as he said those words she turned around and looked him straight in his eyes.

He looked into her eyes and saw nothing, her eyes had no emotion or even a soul, it was like she was lifeless, and he hated to admit it but the look in her eyes scared him. He was wrong she had changed because the girl in front of him was not the girl he knew for all those years..

Her eyes were no longer light brown as he remembers them but they were a dark brown as if they had changed overnight but if you didn’t pay too much attention you would think that they are black and then she suddenly smiled, no scratch that it wasnt a smile but a smirk and when she spoke her voice sent cold shivers down his spine “so I take it your brother is dead” she said in a distant voice, it was more of a statement and not a question.

He kept asking himself how she knew because she did not have any contact with the outside world, he had a lot a question and most of them were addressed to himself and also to his brother who left him in such a predicament. How can Adrian ask him to do such a thing and how can he feel nervous and get cold shivers?? he knows the girl and he has spoken to her on numerous occasions but today he didn’t have the words to answer her so all he did was nod, she then smiled and played her piano again but this time the melody was alive, fast and happy…

how can someone be so calm and happy after hearing that her husband has died, did my brother do something to her that she doesn’t even want to morn or grieve his death but instead she celebrates it? After a few minutes she stood up and gestured him to follow her and he did, they got inside what he assumed was her room, the walls were painted in black and the curtains were closed, and the room looked dark and cold.

Everything about her was cold and dark but they was this layer of mystery that surrounded her it was like she had answers to the most difficult of questions. When she got to her room she started packing and since she was busy, he took the time to actually look at her, she had changed, she was not the happy, affectionate Tiana …no she was something different or scary,but maybe that it was all in his head and he hasn't seen her in a long time. He watched as she walked around parking her things, she was so graceful and poise and for the first time that day he asked himself if the girl was really mentally challenged. I mean she hid her feelings and emotions so well and people like her cant hide their emotions like that but she could.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not see her standing in front of him, he did not hear her calling out his name until she snapped her fingers in front of him “shall we go, or you want to stay behind and take my place?”, her tone was laced with sarcasm and for the second time that day he felt nervous and embarrassed. But he was beginning to get used to the feeling because he was going to be living with this girl in the same house all thanks to his brother... When she saw that he looked embarrassed she smiled but it didn't reach her eyes and it was like she didn't know how to smile anymore...

He wondered what she must have gone through for her to change like this , he wondered if she knew what was waiting for her out there... I mean her mother has been in a comma for months now,her father has been working himself to death and her husband has died ... how is she going to handle the pain?? Moreover he wondered if she was going to ask how her husband died and will she morn his death??

all he had was a question after another but he couldn't ask he those questions, what if he said the wrong thing and it angers her , he felt like he was walking on broken glass and one wrong step could mean the end of him. The heartless and brutal Blake was scared of a woman if only his siblings could see him now they would surely make fun of him. he just hoped that during their stay together she would open up to him and let him in... actually he was going to make sure that she does open up to him by hook or crook..