ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT

DYLAN'S POV

When I left Clear Opal, Pete and Anisha wanted to know what Anisha had said, but I was too drained to talk about it. I told them I was going to update them on the next day. Pete left in his car and Anisha and I drove in silence. I started to regret why I had not asked Chris to drive me. I was in no mood to be driving around, but I had no option. There was no way I could possibly ask Anisha to drive me, so I took the wheel and headed off. Anisha slowly unwrapped the cake and smiled, "it's a fruit cake." The cake was wrapped neatly in foil paper. I just nodded and did not say much. She wrapped it and put it back in the container in which my mum had given her.

"Was my mum nice to you? When the two of you went to collect that cake, was she nice to you?" I asked her.

"Umm, I really don't think this is the right time to talk about this. Can we talk about it another time, please?"

"It's fine. I just hope one day she will get to realise the gem in you. Hopefully Ciera will fully come around. The one thing I really long for is for my family to accept the woman that I love."

Anisha smiled sweetly. I placed my hand on her lap in a reassuring way. Damn, I loved the girl. I loved her with my everything. She was the girl that I had dreamt of all my life; from the time that I was twelve. It was worrying that my mother seemed to be failing to accept Anisha, but I prayed wholeheartedly that one day, she would love and accept her. The woman made me feel complete. I loved her with my everything. How could I ever let her go?

When we got home, Anisha went off to take a shower. Mrs Silva had prepared some food, but both of us were not hungry. I took a shower too, and when I was done, I could not bear to be alone. There was a feeling of emptiness lingering around me, I hated it. I knew it was all because of Arianna. I loved my sister a lot, and the thought that some guy had used her, and probably intended to dump her; the thought drove me crazy.

I walked softly towards the suite which Anisha was using. I knocked softly and there was no response. I knocked again and again, then slowly pushed the door open. Slowly I walked past the lounge and pushed open the bedroom door which was ajar. Anisha, seemingly drowning in thoughts, was carefully applying some lotion to her skin. She was sitting on the dressing table, with her back towards the door. Besides the pant that she wore, she had nothing else on. Slowly she lifted the lotion bottle and let the thick lotion run smoothly on to her palm. She rubbed it in between her palms and oiled her fingers. She took more lotion, applied it to her legs and bent down to spread it on herself. Oh my word! The shiny black hair, which appeared to be slightly damp, hung gracefully from her head, almost touching the floor. The skin on her back was the fairest I had ever seen. It was an example of perfection; with no scar or mark of any type. I moved my eyes slowly towards her waistline. She had the perfect waistline, where her white pant snuck to her body. The body was perfectly built, I could not help but gulp as I watched God's perfect creation. She tossed her head slightly and began to move up. She had not fully sat up before I realised that she was going to see my reflection in the mirror in front of her.

"Dylan!" she screamed and stood up; turned around in a flash to face me, while her hands cupped her breasts. "Why are you here? Please leave!" she quickly ran towards the walk in closet and came out a while later, wearing a nightdress and a long morning gown on top of it.

"Why did you come here?" she seemed to be angry.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to be alone, so I decided to come here to spend some time with you. I knocked, you didn't answer. I didn't mean to peek on you." I explained.

"But you did!" she said in a loud voice.

"I'm sorry", I meant to bring her close to me but she dodged and stood a few steps away from me, visibly angry.

"Anisha I am sorry. I didn't see anything." I said.

She moved off and sat on a chair and started to blow her hair. Without saying anything, I took the blower from her hand and dried her hair for her. Such soft, lovely, pitch black hair. When I was done, I unplugged the drier and Anisha went to sit on her bed.

"Can I sit with you?" I asked in a composed tone, not willing to upset my woman any further.

"Of course," I could see that she was beginning to loosen up. Happy, I sat as close to her as I could. The burden on my heart seemed to begin to melt, I felt safe in her presence. We were quiet for a while, just enjoying the peace among us two, then I finally told her, "Arianna is pregnant."

"Oh! Is she? Who is the man?" Anisha looked shocked.

"She won't say. Do you mind, I really can't talk much about it. I know I'm the one who brought it up, but I really wish to leave this topic. I just want to be with you. We will talk about it later."

I had not expected it, but Anisha took me in her arms and held me like a mother comforting a child. I did feel like a little boy in her arms; and the feeling was immensely good. We lay on the bed, not saying anything, just listening to each other's breathing. With my head buried in her lovely hair, I so much loved the smell of the hair. It must have been some lavender shampoo which she used, it smelled so good, and it made me feel very relaxed. I kept drawing closer and closer to her. Part of my heart feared that she was going to chase me off, or to move away, but she did not. Instead, she also drew me closer to her, and she held me with so much love. She reached out to switch off the room light, and it became dim. There were still rays of light coming in from the balcony; making the room look very cozy. I felt the warmth. I felt her warm breath on my skin, and I loved every moment of it. Her hands were soft and gentle on me. it was amazing how the beautiful woman could make me feel so calm, without even saying a word.

"Talk to me. Tell me anything." I was the one to say that.

"Well, you're sad now, so I'd urge you to try and think of a happy story from your life." She said.

"A happy story…" I could not bring myself to think of any. "Well, my happy story… my happy story is about a boy who went to an orphanage at the age of twelve. In his mind, he thought that all children there would be sad, because all his life, he had always associated happiness with money. But when he went there, he met a young girl who was very happy. Despite the circumstance that she was in, she remained happy and she also helped others around her. It seemed like she always wanted to see others happy. She considered everyone else before herself. She made sure everyone was warm, everyone had eaten, and they were happy. And in the process...the girl surely forgot about herself. But still she was happy…"

Anisha squeezed me in her hug, and kissed my forehead.

"Do you know that on the very first day I visited Olga, I was forced to come? My mum forced me. I didn't want to go to Olga on that day."

"You've told me that before. You said you never thought there would be anything interesting at the children's home."

"Imagine how lost I was. I dread to imagine how my life would have turned out, if I had not met you?"

Anisha laughed a bit and said, "if time could be reversed, would you still go to Olga?"

"Definitely! Of course I would" I answered her truthfully. "The only difference is that the second time around, my mum would not need to force me to go. I would go on my own will. When it comes to anything that concerns you, Anisha, I would do everything over again. I would go to Olga again. I would be kidnapped again, so that I meet you for the second time."

"You would?" Anisha seemed surprised.

"I would. In order to end up being with you, I would." I told her truthfully.

"You would do everything over again? Would you? For me, Dylan?"

"Yes. I would do it again. I believe I am destined to love only you."

I looked up at her to see a warm smile. I brought myself closer to the most beautiful angel I had ever seen, and I kissed her. A proper kiss; not the one I had tried to kiss her back at Clear Opal. She responded warmly, and I felt my heart and soul melting in her arms; in her kiss. My mind was blown away, and at that moment, everything was peaceful. My world was at peace. Everything was perfectly fine with me. All my worries lodged at the back of my mind, and I concentrated on the woman in whose arms I was. We were wrapped up in each other arms, feeling the love in the air around us; feeling its presence as if it could be touched. I would have wanted more of her, but I also needed to respect her. She was clear to me about what she expected from our relationship; and it was my duty to uphold her values; just as it was hers to uphold mine too.

When her breathing became very soft and distant, I looked up to see that she had fallen asleep. I pulled over some bed linen to cover us, and I brought her head slowly and carefully to my shoulder. She mumbled a bit in her sleep, and clung very close to me. I too closed my eyes to fall asleep. On my shoulder lay the love of my heart. The woman I loved with my everything. The woman for whom I could have given my life, if need be. The woman who made my life worth living. My Anisha, my very beautiful Anisha. She woman who taught me a lot about life; I loved her with my everything. I was desperately, hopelessly, totally in love her.