Irrational and coming from a place of hurt, he knew that what she uttered was not what she truly meant. She was scared, and allowed for her anger to get the best of her in this tender moment. That was something he knew for sure.
But, even with all that having been said, the venom that those words held was still enough to leave Terry feeling disheartened and utterly broken.
With shoulders hunched, and holding his head low in his hands, he hardly had the energy left to argue with his wife. His spirit had been crushed beneath her boot, and dragged under the creaking wheels of her black suitcase.
He should have held his ground for longer. He thought. He should have fought back stronger. Though, with a drive as strong as hers, what would those strategies have truly done?
With one last look over her shoulder, her eyes tinted a slight red at the scene she’s left behind- an extinguished man, and her child crying in the other room- she slams the door behind her. The wooden frame shaking, before coming to a rest.
The house now left hollowed and silent in her wake.
***
“Pa! Pa! Look, I can see her! I can see the ship!”
The raucous laughter of Eliana, was just what Terrence needed, to pull him free from his dark thoughts. The bleakness that had begun to color his mind, coming undone for just a brief second. And for that he was especially thankful for.
Shifting his focus skyward, his hands coming up to shield his view
Alanys Rengifo, Grade 11