The burden of guilt

picture generated by @wakeupkitty host of this contest

-I see a sad looking man at a table. The dinner on the table is untouched and there is a loaf of bread, carrots, lettuce,and apples on the table. An equally sad looking woman is standing beside the man with a pen and a piece of paper in her hand.

-I feel sadness and hopelessness from this photo.

STORY
Janet watched her husband Thomas trudge into the house. As usual his shoulders were slumped, his head was bent, Thomas had a sour look on his face and he didn't talk to her. She sighed and decided to try talking to him tonight.

“Thomas dear, welcome” Janet said. He replied to her greeting with a grunt, and she looked up from tidying the table to find him untying the laces of his boot.

“I made dinner, are you hungry?” she tried again. He looked up tiredly, first at the table, then shifted his gaze to the bathroom.

“Let me freshen up first” he mumbled, barely audible, then headed to the bathroom.

Their house was a cottage in a small town, with two small rooms, a living room and a kitchen. It used to be full of laughter and happiness and a small family of Thomas, Janet, and their daughter Eve. They were not particularly rich, but with Thomas' work as a cobbler and the land behind their cottage that they cultivated, they got by just fine.

That was until Eve left the house and Thomas blamed himself and couldn't forgive himself or look his wife in the eye. It all started when Eve, an intelligent beautiful, hardworking 17-year-old girl, had gotten pregnant for a boy who had denied the pregnancy and fled town.

Eve's father, who had big dreams for her had been so heartbroken and furious that he'd sent her out of their home and decreed she was never to return. All his wife's plea fell on deaf ears, and she watched her only child leave the only home she'd ever known and the only people who could have helped her behind.

It took days for Thomas to realize the gravity of his actions and how harsh he'd been towards his only daughter. All efforts to locate her had proved fruitless and Thomas who was racked with guilt slowly became a shadow of himself.

He walked in from the bathroom and sat at the table. Janet shifted carrots, lettuce, a basket of apples and the other ingredients she'd used in preparing dinner on the table. She set a steaming bowl of soup and a loaf of bread on the table, then proceeded to fill two soup mugs with her delicious soup.

She watched as her husband stared ahead, looking sad, and lost. One hand on the table, and the other on his head, his food untouched.

“That's it Thomas! I've had enough of all this moping around” she said tiredly.

“I'm sorry, my dearest Janet, but I cannot seem to forgive myself for sending my Eve away. How can you even look at me or condone my presence?” he asked forlornly.

“Yes I agree you took a rash decision, and you let your anger cloud your decision, but it's been 5 years Thomas. Forgive yourself because I've forgiven you dear” Janet replied quietly.

“I can't, how can I forgive myself when I don't know where my daughter is? If she's dead or alive?” Thomas replied.

His wife looked at him with a frown on her face. She smoothed her apron and sighed deeply.

“Eve is fine, and your grandson is doing good” Janet said.

Thomas looked up sharply at her, trying to understand what was going on

“Janet, What do you mean? My grandson… Eve?” Thomas asked confused.

“Two years after Eve left, she reached out to me. Thankfully, a kind woman found her on the streets in the city and took her in. She gave birth to a boy named Tommy, and she enrolled in school about the same time she reached out to me” Janet replied.

Thomas stared in shock and burst into tears. He sobbed uncontrollably and Janet consoled him, she watched as the grief of the last 5 years left him.

“I would have told you earlier, but Eve asked me not to. She said she wanted to graduate and make you proud before letting you know” Janet continued.

“My darling girl, will she ever be able to forgive me?” he asked eyes closed, his pain clearly showing on his face.

“She named her son after you, Thomas. She forgave you a long time ago, but she feared coming home” Janet replied walking into the bedroom and returning with a pen and paper.

“Here, write her a letter. Tell her how you feel, Thomas. Make my child return home” Janet said frowning.

After much coaxing and convincing a sad-looking Thomas that his daughter still considered him to be her father and held no grudge against him, he summoned the courage to write a letter to his only child. He begged for her forgiveness and asked her to return home.

With a happy heart, Thomas watched his wife seal up the letter and set it aside to be taken to the post office very early the next morning. He couldn't sleep that night as he kept on imagining the faces of Eve and his grandchild. He prayed and hoped with every fiber of his being that his wife was correct and that they would return home to visit him.