“Can you see the moon?” asked the man after a long silence.
“Yes, of course,” she answered nestling her head against his chest. “Kiss me,” she told him. Putting the crutch carefully under his armpit, he bent down as Aunt tried to straighten up her body to receive his kiss. What a long, burning kiss! It seemed to me that it contained everything: happiness, suffering and long waiting. It was not until midnight that I heard heavy thuds on the pavement recede farther and farther.
***
She lay close to me, took my hand and placed it on her belly. “I’m going to have a baby, dear,” she whispered. I was startled. “I’d thought that I would never have one, but now I am certain.” “You’re very happy, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Absolutely.”
There was simple truth in her voice. “Are you sure that he really loves you?” “Certain. And if it’s not quite so, it would make no difference. What I need is to be beside the man I love. That’s all!”
“Aren’t you afraid of suffering?” I asked.
“If you are, stay away from love, that’s all,” she said firmly, turning her back towards me. Soon she fell asleep.
I tossed and turned all night.
The next morning I got up very early to get everything ready for my long journey. When she found me packing, she was very surprised.
“I’ve made up my mind to go, Aunt. I am going to An’s house.” She cried, hugging me tightly.
“Are you certain that you can manage there?” “I don’t know for sure. It’ll be all right as long as we are still in love.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right,” she sobbed. “Write to me if you meet with any difficulty. But I believe that you’ll be happy together.”
Dawn was breaking. The horizon was glowing bright and rosy, seeming to promise a much better future. Aunt led me to the balcony and pointed at the slowly rising sun. “Do you know this? The day always belongs to the sun.”
Her eyes flashed with the reflection of countless sunbeams.