what is not spoken

When Leo knelt down to pray, his soon to be ex-wife sat down on the floor next to him. He sensed her presence but was afraid to open his eyes for this could be the last time he sees Tina as his lawful wedded wife. He has to get used to the term "ex-wife".

Tina placed her hand tenderly on his and they prayed together. Leo was asking for the reasons his wife is leaving him. It was not for a better looking man, not for a woman either, not for wealth as he is a fairly rich and famous musician. If it was for either one of the above reasons, it would have terribly humiliated him and he wondered if his friends will stop teasing him. But it remains that he is not the most loyal of a husband. There were times when he derailed into the arms and bed of a young pop singer or a desperate corporate executive searching for erotic sex in the embrace of an artist. They affair didn't last very long or it never went beyond a one-night-stand. His friends did it and if he didn't, he was no longer fashionable. He definitely believed that their sexual life was still peaking after eight years of marriage. As a husband he listened to her but also expected her to listen to him and he provided for her every need. Maybe she is going to tell him that she cannot accept his sexual excursions with other women. She wanted him to be faithful. This must be the reason Tina is asking for a separation.

WIth her hand on his, Tina prayed for the happiness of her husband wherever he goes. She asked for him to stop seeking for logical reasons that this marriage draws to an end. She knows about his love affairs and that was not the reason she asked for a divorce. It is not a question of whether she could tolerate her husband's unfaithfulness because she understands that a person's heart is capable of loving more than one person simultaneously. But her husband did not love anyone except himself. His affairs were nothing more than games he played along with his elite all boys club; competing to prove one another's virility and cash flow. Lying underneath his childish actions, he is trying to search for security though music, marriage, sex, power and wealth. He doesn't understand even after a long and tiring search that security does not exist, not externally. Throughout the years, Tina is aware that she became his pillar of certainty and stability. It allowed him to trip and fall but it didn't do one thing for him, which is to help him grow and be a responsible adult. She continues to pray for Leo's well being and that one day he realises within himself that all that he is searching for amounts to nothing; that love is to be extended to others for it to flourish.

Tina released her hand, bent over to kiss his cheek. Without pausing for another moment, she got up and left, closing and starting a new chapter in her life.

Leo opened his eyes and tears soaked his ego inflated face.