Chapter 25: chapter 25

“I am sorry I ended it and left you alone. I promise you I will never do it again.” uncle said to me. He approached me he came closer and closer. Slowly and steadily he came even closer, more closer and closer. I felt as though the air around me stopped, it was silent, I could feel boss warmth embrace me, I wanted to get away but couldn't. I could feel him, uhhh... That feeling is irresistible, I don't know, it was near the church so I pushed him away. He realised it and moved away. My face flushed red. I felt 13 again, the time, he first held me. Ahhh.... “Uncle! ” I exclaimed, he held me close again, I called mom through my phone, and told her that I was feeling dizzy and I called uncle to take me home. She agreed as she was into her own world. I went with my uncle, the air blew softly, and then he pulled the car windows up. He put on the A/C, I felt a bit ok.  Finally, I had escaped like a decieteful lady. I looked at uncle, ans he was concentrating on driving. “hmm  ... What's wrong? “ he aesthetic, suddenly making my body shiver. “um  ... ... Nothing nothing, ” I murmured softly. “stupid he smell incest? ” uncle asked me. I was shocked on how he knew about that, but I didn't ask. I just replied with an yes. “So shall we go to a park or a beach? ” he asked me, and I answered beach. As I wanted to feel the cool yet salty water by my feet. He took the beach road, and suddenly received a call from someone. He stopped driving and parked the car aside, picking the call. “Yes? Eli? No no nothing important. ” he said, and as I heard that from here mouth I frowned. I couldn't hear what Eli was saying, and somehow uncle invited her to the beach we were going to. I was reluctant in welcoming aunt Eli. ... The sun had barely cleared the horizon when we reached the beach, the tide still pulling back its silver sheen from the sand. The air held a gentle saltiness, and the evening breeze teased the hem of my linen shirt. He had driven, of course, effortlessly navigating the quiet roads while Aunt Eli chatted beside him, sipping iced tea from a travel mug. I sat in the back, watching him through the mirror, the familiar curve of his smile enough to calm the nerves coiled in my stomach.She hadn’t noticed. Not in the way others might have. To her, he was the charismatic friend of her husband, steady and kind, with a penchant for planning outings and keeping her company on slow days. She didn’t question why I came along so often. Perhaps she assumed I was lonely, or that he felt responsible for keeping me connected to the family. That assumption served us all well.The beach stretched out before us, golden and untouched. Aunt Eli clapped her hands, delighted by the early hour and the emptiness. "Oh, we beat the crowds!" she said, kicking off her sandals. "Thanks for inviting me, actually I was feeling low, you know, Denny and his business meetings."He smiled, carrying the umbrella and towels, the cooler hanging from his other hand. "Your welcome dear Eli." Uncle said with a large smile. Dear Eli? Hit me a bit hard. Only I was supposed to be called dear! After all! I trailed behind them, watching the footprints they left in the soft sand. He glanced back once, just for a second, the way he does when he’s checking that I’m okay. I nodded, imperceptibly, and he turned back to her with a warmth that was no act.He set up everything carefully: the umbrella perfectly angled to block therising sun, towels smoothed flat, chips packets arranged just so. Aunt Eli settled into her spot with a sigh of satisfaction and pulled a paperback from her bag. She always read thrillers at the beach, her sunglasses slipping down her nose as she devoured chapter after chapter.I sat beside him, close but not too close. We didn’t need to speak. The comfort was in the presence, the quiet rhythm of the waves, and the occasional brush of his hand against mine when he passed me a bottle of water or pointed out something in the surf.Later, when the sun was higher and Aunt Eli had dozed off in her chair, her book tented over her stomach, he leaned over and asked if I wanted to walk with him. I did. I always did.We kept a casual distance between us, just two people enjoying the evening. He picked up shells and handed me the ones he thought I’d like. I tucked one in my pocket, white with a soft spiral of pink. We didn’t say much, but there was something in the silences between us, in the occasional glance, the shared grin at a group of noisy crows stealing someone's unattended sandwich.When we returned, Aunt Eli was awake, stretching and yawning like a cat in the sun. "You two took your sweet time," she said, mock scolding. "I hope you brought me something from your expedition."He held out a tiny, perfect sand dollar. "Just this."Her face lit up. "Oh, you remembered I used to collect these with Daniel.""I remember everything," he said gently.And I watched her soften, touched by the memory of her now always busy husband, by the thoughtfulness he wrapped around her so easily. I saw how much she loved him—not in the way I did, but with that steady familial affection that made room for him in her life, her stories, her beach trips.He made space for her and me both, a careful balancing act that never felt strained. He gave her the conversation and kindness she needed, and he gave me everything else in the moments between, in the silences, in the quiet walk along the shore.That was his gift: keeping the balance, making the impossible feel natural. Making both of us feel chosen.