Sophie and the other women,their conversation paused mid-sentence,watched with growing curiosity as a gleaming new luxury car pulled up nearby.
A stricking woman stepped gracefully out of the car,her every moment exuding quiet confidence.She wore a tailored brown suit that hugged her figure with understated elegance.Her long,brown dreadlocks cascanded over her shoulders in elegant,well -kept rows,each lock a testament to both styles and grace.She wore high heels in a rich,mocha tone that matched her ensemble with effortless coordination.Her calm,confident stirred something unspoken between them.Eyes followed her,not with malice,but with the sharp-edged curiosity only familiar mystery can provoke.
Whispers fluttered like wind through leaves."That's Mama Asta,"one murmed,barely above a breath.The name settled heavily in the air,awakening old stories and buried assumptions,each woman silently measuring this unexpected return against the weight of what they thought they knew.
Sophie heart gave a small,involuntary jolt as the name echoed in her ears"Mama Asta".The words stirred memories she'd long tucked away beneath layers of time and carefully chosen silence.She watched the woman with a mix of awe and unease,her mind struggling to reconcile the striking figure before her with the shadowed stories whispered years ago.
There was a grace in the woman's demeanor,a quiet authority that made Sophie feel suddenly smaller,as if parts of herself -uncertainties,regrets,unspoken questions had been laid bare in the woman's wake.The past hadn't knocked;it has stepped out of luxury car in heels and dreadlocks,wearing brown like it was made for her.
As she approached the sidewalk where the women stood,her heels echoed with quiet command,drawing their eyes like magnets.She didn't speak at first -just offered a faint,knowing smile,the kind that held layers of meaning and unspoken history.Her gaze swept briefly over them,pausing ever so slightly on Sophie,whose breath caught despite herself.
There was no malice in her eyes,only recognition ....and something else curiosity?Amusement? A silent messsage passed between them in that fleeting second,too swift to name,yet too charged to ignore.
The women exchaged glances,some stiffening,others whispering.Sophie,however;stood still;Every detail of the woman's presence tuggging at memories she wasn't ready to revisit.
She finally spoke,her voice smooth and low,like velvet brushed across warm skin.It held a quiet richness-- measured, musical yet with just enough edge to command attention without asking for it.
"Good afternoon,ladies,"she said,her tone dipped in effortless grace,each syllable pronounced with the calm assurance of someone who had nothing to prove.It was the way they settled into the air,slow and deliberate,drawing every ear without raising her volume.To Sophie,it felt like the world pause for a second too long.That voice carried something intimate,as if it had once belonged to a story she hadn't lived but somehow remembered.It stirred a strange flutter in her chest -half admiration,half a feeling she couldn't name.She managed a polite smile,but inside,her thoughts were tumbing,unraveling around a single truth:
Some people didn't just speak- they arrived through the sound.
Before anyone could speak again,"Wait ...aren't you his wife?"she asked gently,not with accusation,but wonder-like someone's slowly piecing together a puzzle."Kinuthia's?"
The question hung delicately in the air,not sharp,but charged.A murmur rippled through a circle as others quietly turned to Sophie.
Sophie felt the breath catch in her chest.The sound of his name spoken aloud infront of her made everything feel suddenly real,suddenly fragile.
"Yes,"she said after a beat,her voice steady but quiet,her eyes still on the woman who hadn't stopped watching her.
There was no hostility in that gaze only something softer.Something that disarmed Sophie even more than comfortantion would have.
The woman offered a small ,sincere smile,one that carried neither regret nor pride,only a graceful knowledge of the truth.She nodded once"You wear it well,"she said simply,a quiet admiration woven through her words.
Sophie blinked,surprised.Her guard didn't drop but her heart softened,if only a little.For the first time,she didn't see a rival.She saw a woman who'd lived her own part of a story,who had walked through fire and still returned with grace.
And for that moment ,something unspoken passed between them-an understanding deeper than words,rooted not in competition,but in shared humanity.
Without warning,a shadow fell across the group.A presence so familiar it didn't need introduction.Sophie's breath hitched before she even turned.
A figure had appeared,silent and sure,like a ghost stepping into sunlight.
Kinuthia.
He stood just beyond the circle,hands in his pocket,his posture calm but his eyes anything but.They scammed the scene slowly,taking in the gathered women,the luxury car,and finally her.
For a moment,time seemed to fold in on itself.The past and present collided without ceremony,with only the quiet sound of the breeze and the dull thud of Sophie's heartbeat breaking the silence.
Kinuthia's gaze lingered on the woman in brown.Something flickered in his eyes recognition,yes,but also restrain.A storm behind a calm sea.
She looked at him too steadily; without flinching,without speaking.Just one slow breath,and a small nod,like they both understood more than they'd ever say aloud.
Sophie felt the weight of his presence beside her,but he hadn't moved toward her.He hadn't spoken her name.
The silence between all three stretched long,taut with meaning,as if the next world whoever spoke it would shift everything.
The tension swelled,unspoken words crowding the air until she broke it.Her voice came smooth and unbothered,the smile on her lips carrying just a trace of mischief.
"I decided on my own ,"she said lightly,her eyes flicking to Kinuthia ."You said your car had no fuel ...and mine did.So ,I came."She let the words settle,then added with a soft,knowing smile,
"Hope you don't mind."
It wasn't an accusation,nor was it permission-seeking.It was a simple truth offered with elegance,wrapped in something playful,and tipped with just enough edge to leave it's mark.
Kinuthia didn't respond right away.His jaw tensed slightly,and Sophie felt the air between them shift again like the wind had cganged direction.
The other women stayed frozen,caught between awe and anticipation,their eyes bouncing from one face to the next,trying to decipher the story that had suddenly unfolded at their feet.
Sophie,still standing beside him,fought the rise of questions behind her composed exterior.But she couldn't deny it.The woman's words,her calm,her choice to show up had unsettled something.
Kinuthia finally shifted just a step forward,but it felt like a crack through glass.His presence,calm and firm,anchored the silence before it unraveled completely.
He looked first at the woman in brown-Kinuthia's former lover- then at Sophie ,and finally at the curious ,expectant eyes of the women around them.His voice,when it came,was low and clear.
"This isn't the place,"he said,not harshly,but with quiet authority that softened the edges of the moment."And I think we all know that."
The woman in brown raised a brow,amused but not confrontational.
"I didn't come to make a place,"she said smoothly."I just came to help someone whose tank was empty."
Then she smiled again ,the same almost playful smile unpologetic,unreadable,and perfectly composed.
Kinuthia's gaze didn't waver."Understood,"he replied,his tone measured."Thank you for that.But maybe next time,a call first?"
There was no malice,just control-carefully held in his posture,in his voice,in the way he stood between Sophie and the past now flickering in front of them.
Sophie,quiet beside him,felt his presence like a shield yet still,the woman's poise lingered in the air,fragrant and unforgettable.
The moment hung,like a scene waiting to turn.
The woman in brown shifted her weight gracefully,folding one arm across her waist as she turned to kinuthia,her tone still calm but now edged with quiet intent.
"And where is my son Asta?"she asked,her voice dipping just slightly ,enough to turn a simple question into something heavier.
Kinuthia cleared his throat,his composure faltering for the briefest second.
"He's at my sister's place,"he replied."I can take you there,if you'd like."
Before she could answer,onother voice cut in;sharp,uninvited,and coated with cocern poorly disguised as courtesy.
"I don't think that's good idea,"one of the women interjected,eyes flicking between Kinuthia and the woman in brown.
"No offense,but maybe ...maybe Sophie should take her.Just to avoid any,you know,misunderstanding."
She forced a smile,but her tone was taunt,stretched between judgement and false diplomacy.
The air tightened again.
The woman in brown titled her head ever so slightly,her smile never faltering but the glint in her eyes sharpened like a blade concealed with silk.
"A misunderstanding?"she echoed,the words gliding out like smoke."I assure you I am perfectly capable of being civil.But if Sophie is willing...."
She turned to Sophie with that same unreadable calm,something ancient and intelligent in her gaze.
"....I would be glad to ride with her."
All eyes shifted to Sophie;some expectant,some watchful,and some quietly waiting to see if grace would hold.