Love needs no words

Love needs no words

Sometime during the night she'd left. She always did. She had to. They
went through the same routine every day; a glance to confirm the tacet
agreement between them, a light knock at his door later that night and
paradise would enter. And when both mind and body were exhausted she
would always leave. He had never woken up with her at his side. They
both knew the dangers of that, it wasn't just what it would do to them
but how it would affect the rest of the household.

He began to trace a line with his finger along her upturned wrist. He
barely touched her skin as he travelled up her arm, to her shoulder,
across her neck and downwards. He mirrored his finger with his lips,
slowly encircling her breasts til she placed a hand on his shoulder and
gently pushed.

He sat alone in his tiny room, and, with mixed emotions, recalled again
the thrill of that first contact weeks ago; a simple wordless
understanding of what they felt and what they would do about it. They
had exchanged subtle, sidelong glances at mealtimes and somehow managed
to brush against each other at every opportunity, pausing briefly to
breathe in their silent secret. The rest of the family suspected
nothing, they had been very careful with their meetings, knowing how
delicate and forbidden the situation was.

They sat facing each other on the bed, legs intertwined, their eyes
also locked together, passion passing between them. She leaned forward
to kiss him, sliding her hand to his chest and slowly forcing him down,
down, never once leaving his lips.

The mixed blessing of being in the same house was not lost on either of
them. Just the thought that they were never far away and that they
could see each other at any time was enough to keep them going. But
this same closeness pushed them a million miles from each other when
others were around. He felt physically sick whenever he thought about
the consequences of being found out, but neither had the desire nor the
strength to stop this dangerous affair.

After a time he slowly rolled away from her, delirious and exhausted.
They both lay motionless and silent. He stared at the ceiling unable to
think. They had made their commitment and there was no going back
now.

Yesterday she'd seemed about to crack under the pressure. He thought
that she was going to say something at dinner. She'd been restless all
day. All through the meal she'd just pushed her food around the plate,
occassionally looking up at him. He just sat quietly eating, unable to
take part in the mealtime chatter, but aware of her eyes at all
times.

He held her close, knowing that she was to leave him again soon. He
desperately wanted to tell her things, but the words were never there.
His frustration in this purely physical relationship made him hold her
ever more tightly til he knew that she must leave him.

When everyone was together was the worst time, when they had to pretend
for all that they were worth that everything was as it should be. The
strain of faking this facade was a chilling reminder that what they
were involved in was wrong. He'd sensed that she was fragile,
emotionally lacking in some way to cope with all of this, so every time
they made eye contact he'd put his hand over his mouth to remind her of
their responsibility to everyone in the house. It would only be a
matter of time though.

Eyes closed, ever closer, ever nearer til their lips lightly touched.
He held himself there, almost hovering above her, touching only in this
one place. The anticipation passed between them with the heat of their
bodies, transmitting their intentions without the need for
explanations. A love that needed no words.

He reluctantly turned on the T.V., knowing what he might see; a news
report. He understood none of the words but he recognised her face on
the screen. The reporter announced, "The body of Janet Mason, mother of
two and wife of Mr. Donald Mason, was found yesterday..." He slumped
back into the chair, wondering where he could go next.