After Rinyo’s funeral, Tamey found himself drawn to her grave, visiting her more frequently than he expected. It was the only place where he could feel close to her, though she was no longer by his side. The quiet cemetery became his sanctuary, a place where he could talk to her in the stillness, hoping the wind might carry his words to wherever she was now.
One somber afternoon, as Tamey approached the grave, something unexpected caught his eye—a bouquet of fresh red roses, bright and vivid against the stone. His breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t brought them, and although Rinyo had friends and some distant relatives, it seemed odd for anyone to be visiting so soon after the funeral without telling him.
Tamey, dismissed it at first, thinking maybe someone from the community had come to pay their respects privately. But the next week, it happened again—more fresh roses, perfectly arranged on her grave. And it kept happening, week after week. The flowers always appeared freshly placed, with boot prints in the soft soil surrounding the grave.
Tamey’s unease grew. Whoever was visiting was doing so in secret, never crossing paths with him. The idea of a mysterious mourner kept gnawing at him until, finally, he decided to find out the truth. Who could this be? Why the regularity, the secrecy? Tamey placed a small, hidden camera near Rinyo’s grave, concealed beneath some rocks and leaves. He felt a strange sense of guilt for spying, but he needed answers.
For days, nothing unusual happened. The camera footage showed only the stillness of the cemetery, swaying trees, and the occasional visitor passing through. But on the fourth day, Tamey found what he had been waiting for.
The footage revealed a man—a stranger—dressed in a dark coat, carefully placing the roses on Rinyo’s grave. Tamey’s heart raced. He had never seen this man before, not in Rinyo’s life, and certainly not at her funeral. Who was he? What was his connection to Rinyo?
Driven by a need for answers, Tamey returned to the cemetery the following week, determined to confront the man. He hid among the trees, waiting. Hours passed, and just when he began to lose hope, the same man appeared, carrying another bouquet of red roses. Tamey stepped out of his hiding place and blocked the man’s path before he could reach Rinyo’s grave.
“Who are you?” Tamey asked, his voice trembling with a mix of frustration and sorrow. “Why are you leaving flowers on my wife’s grave?”
The man froze, startled by the confrontation. He looked down at the roses in his hands, then back at Tamey with an expression of deep sadness. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” the man said softly. “My name is Jalen.”
Tamey’s jaw tightened. “That’s not what I asked. Why are you here? How do you know my wife?”
Jalen hesitated, his face clouded with emotion. “Rinyo… she was someone I loved a long time ago. We were together—before you met her. She was my girlfriend.”
Tamey’s breath caught in his throat. Girlfriend? His mind reeled. Rinyo had never mentioned anyone like Jalen. She had never spoken of an old relationship that had meant so much. Tamey thought he had known everything about her, yet here stood a man claiming to have once shared a love with her.
“Why didn’t she ever mention you?” Tamey asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
Jalen looked down at the roses, his fingers brushing the petals gently. “We were young, and there was a misunderstanding between us. I thought she didn’t care about me anymore, and she believed the same of me. We parted ways, both too proud to reach out. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late. She had moved on, and I convinced myself it was better that way.”
Tamey’s hands clenched at his sides. A part of him wanted to be angry, to feel betrayed that Rinyo had never shared this part of her past with him. But another part of him understood. People have histories—lives that don’t always fit neatly into the present. Yet it still stung to hear that Rinyo had once loved someone else so deeply.
“And you came back for her now, after all this time?” Tamey asked, his voice softening.
“I didn’t know she was married until I read the news of her passing,” Jalen admitted.
“I wasn’t coming to interfere. I came because I never stopped thinking about her. She was the love I lost, and though I respected her life with you, I wanted to honor her memory.
I thought, at the very least, I could give her these flowers, even if they don’t mean anything now.”
Tamey stood in silence, staring at the roses that had once filled him with suspicion but now seemed like an offering of something much more complicated. The two men—strangers tied together by the love of one woman—stood quietly in the cemetery, the weight of their shared grief settling over them.
Finally, Tamey nodded toward the grave. “You can leave the flowers.”
Jalen, visibly relieved, stepped forward and placed the roses beside Rinyo’s headstone. He lingered for a moment, whispering something Tamey couldn’t hear, and then turned to leave.
As Jalen walked away, Tamey remained, gazing down at the red roses. He knelt by Rinyo’s grave, his hand resting on the cold stone as questions filled his mind. Who had she been to Jalen? And what had she truly carried with her from that time in her life? He knew he would never have those answers.
The wind rustled through the trees, and Tamey whispered into the still air, “Why didn’t you ever tell me, Rinyo?”
But the silence gave no reply, and as always, the mystery of her past remained buried with her.
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