Cindy, her hand gently resting on a soft baby bum, stands embraced with Ross near the lakeshore and a waterfall. Their faces are serene, basking in the early morning’s peace, as the sun glimmers off the water’s surface. Together, they sway gently, wrapped in each other’s arms, savoring the quiet and the promise of new life.
"It’s getting so cloudy!""I agree with you, honey! The sky looks angry today." They both gaze upward, watching the clouds gather and swirl. A sense of unease creeps in, the once-bright world now painted in shades of gray and anticipation.
Cindy squeezes Ross’s hand, her eyes wide as a jagged bolt of lightning splits the sky and strikes the lake’s surface, sending a spray of steam and ripples outward. "A thunderstorm!!""We need to get to the tent, hurry, Cindy!" Heart pounding, they dash toward the fragile safety of their tent, the storm’s roar close behind.
Cindy settles onto her leafy bed, watching as Ross secures the leaf curtains tight. Suddenly, a cocoa fruit—one of their precious few—rolls toward the tent’s entrance, nudged by the trembling earth. "No! The cocoa fruits!""Stay right here, Cin, I’ll get them!" His eyes dart with determination, and before Cindy can protest, Ross is already out in the storm.
Cindy, peering through a gap in the curtain, sees him silhouetted by lightning. Her heart leaps as another bolt crashes down, illuminating Ross in stark relief for a split second, before the world plunges into darkness and the thunder shakes the ground. She claps her hands over her eyes, breath held, trembling with fear for both her love and her unborn child.
Cindy, unsteady, opens her eyes and listens. The silence gnaws at her, and she rises, clutching her belly protectively. "Thank god my baby is okay..." She pushes aside the curtain, stepping barefoot into mud, her gaze darting across the sodden clearing. The cocoa fruit lies near the lake, but Ross is nowhere in sight.
At the water’s edge, she falls to her knees, clutching her belly as grief overtakes her. "Ross..." Her cry is swallowed by the rain, her sobs echoing in the emptiness. Alone and heartbroken, Cindy mourns her lost love, her tears falling into the lake as the storm finally drifts away.
