Your slightest look easily will unclose me,

The thunder and lightning witnessed my tears as I ran between the dark sky and the damp ground. I knew that he was chasing me. I knew that he would not leave me alone until the sky and the ground does the same. He would never leave me to drown in my own tears.

I wanted to hug him and feel the warmth of his love in my soul. I wanted to press my face against the chest that held the heart that beats for me. I wanted to wrap my hands around the body that held a soul dearer to me than my own but I dreaded the moment when our eyes would meet because I knew that he had the power to know me from the core. The core that I wished to be destroyed from my memory. At that moment, the only thing that I wished for more than his presence beside me was his absence so that my secret could be kept.

Though I have closed myself as fingers,

My leg was tired of running and my soul was wearied of hiding but I felt that it was mandatory to conceal it from him. I had tried everything to keep Ella away from George, both of them mattered to me and I was not ashamed of them but I was ashamed of myself for a sin that I never committed.

The rain became heavier and my eyes became blurry. I sat on the pavement and supported my body on my knees and hands as I looked at the ground, defeated. I could not find the courage to tell him the truth because I did not want him to go away.

The light from the lamp post beside me shimmered the water on the footpath as drops of water fell on the ground from my short wet hair and my exhausted eyes. A lot of cars and a lot of people passed ahead of me. None of them spared a glance at me.

I heard splashes of water behind me and I knew that it was him.

He sat in front of me and encased me in his hug. His chest kept raising up and moving back as he breathed heavily. I could hear his quick heartbeats and I feared that it was the last time I had the privilege to hear the symphony.

You open always petal by petal myself

We sat under the cloudy sky for a very long time. I did not speak a word neither did he. I hugged him and so did he.

He stroked my hair and kissed on my head.

"It's okay Anna. It always will be, trust me."

I retrieved from the hug and looked at his eyes that symbolized the sincerity of his words. His were teary and red and I knew that it was the moment of truth. His bald head was wet and his forehead wrinkled, all due to me.

"I am not a whore John, I am not a whore"

"I know," He managed to smile through his worried face. "You are a woman and you are my woman, Anna"

As spring opens her first rose

"She is my daughter, I was..." I could not say the grotesque word as memories threatened to fledge my mind "raped...I am not a whore, they are all lying"

I do not know why did Ella, my five-year-old daughter, come to the restaurant. She was alone and she ran to me while calling me 'Mama'. I did not say John about Ella because I was afraid. Since the cursed day on which Ella was blessed into my life, I have suffered a lot. They called me a'whore' and the word still rings in my ears as my darkest nightmares make visits at nights. The scars have not faded away and the words have not been forgotten. They were fresh until I met John.

"I know Anna and it was me who called her to the restaurant"

"Mom," I heard Ella's sweet voice behind me. She ran to me and I hugged her. I felt a sudden pang of guilt as I realized that I had left her too behind, as I ran away from John. I felt her tiny frame inside my arms and I knew that certain good things are born out of bad.

She was the reason due to which I decided to live. If she had not taken life inside me, I would have killed myself with their words. I would have cried blood if I did not have my daughter. She was my only reason to smile until John, a florist whom I met on a rainy night similar to that night, entered my life.

I wanted to celebrate my daughter's birthday at midnight but I could not buy the required items due to my heavy schedule. It was unusual for a florist to sell flowers at night but then again, everything about John was unusual including his love for me. I bought the flowers and he took my number saying that it was for a lucky coupon. He called me the next day itself and we started hanging out. He never asked me about the person for whom I bought the flowers for and I never said him but it was only later that I knew that he did not ask me about her because he knew it while I did not say about her because I did not want him to know.

John quickly took a small ring from his pocket and asked Ella, "Will you let me be your father and make me the happiest man on earth?"

"Yes, Yes, Yes..." She jumped onto his lap.

Ella took a small box from her floral frock's pocket and opened it. There was a ring inside it. She held the box with both her hands.

"Will you marry my father, mom?" She asked hopefully and smiled warmly at me.

"Yes, Miss Anna, will you marry me?" John cupped Ella's hands.

And that was the moment that I knew that I belonged to him as roses belonged to the spring.

"Yes," I hugged John. John took Ella and kissed on her cheek and I kissed on her other cheek.

And my fragrance conflated with you.