章 281: Chapter (Two Hundred) Eighty: Candles

Striking a match, Celeste brought the flame to the wicks of the candles that were propped on each side of Ernesto's framed picture on the mantle. She lit them both, one after the other before blowing out the match. She muttered quiet words under her breath, words meant only for her. A prayer. A plea.

She made the sign of the cross once she was done, raising the rosary beads that always hung around her neck to her lips and placed a kiss on it.

" What are you doing?" Damien asked from behind her and Celeste spun around to face him.

" I just wanted to light a candle for your brother." She said, wringing her hands. Damien was leaning against the wall, his thick arms folded over his chest. When he didn't move, she stepped closer. She hadn't seen him in two weeks and before then their encounters had been few and far in-between. Damien had been acting differently ever since. She missed him. It felt like she had lost two sons that night instead of one.