“I wish we didn’t have to hide like this..”

Amane’s voice cut through the silence from where she rested her tired head against your bare, & exposed breasts. The gentle & eased rise & fall of your skin was enough to bring her flushed face & rampaging mind to an ease. You had been having an affair with the Lady Ubyashiki for about 6 months, by now. Her husband unaware of her infidelity, & the world unaware of her love for you. Her seven children all in tow, the guilt ate relentlessly at Amane.

The steel furnace tucked away in the corner of your mahogany hut roared fiercely with the cold of winter. Amane's pale skin sweat-glazed & glossy. Glittering with an irresistible shimmer. One you couldn't help but crave to find refuge in.

She always looked so tired in your hold. You wondered if it was the 10 consecutive years that she had spent in & out of unwanted pregnancy with 7 kids.

Maybe it was the ease of not having to take care of someone other than herself. Maybe it was the silence of not having eager hands gripping at her traditional wear. Calling out soft, & desperate "Mother"'s.

Maybe it was the peace of having someone who would hold her just right. Who would love her, just right.

Maybe, it was the love. The essence of home that Amane had guiltily built with you.

No matter how nice it felt in the moment, It seemed to hungrily eat at her later.