394 - A Father's Relief

At first he was at a loss for words, as the tears ebbed, and his and Noah's eyes met in a tacit understanding. The two stared at each other in silence, until the man's years stopped, a minute later.

"Thank you, boy... I never expected to help me this much," he said, nodding at Noah, who nodded back. His pain could not be said to have been cleared, but it had at least been lessened by a bit. The wounds were still too fresh for mere words to give him any such relief, but at least his guilt, which had been eroding his mind since the day before, had been almost entirely cleared. And Noah was the only person to thank for it. "About my daughter, what did you think of her?" he asked, Noah confusedly trying to find the right answer.

"She's a hard working girl, and her looks don't fall too far behind even that. I think she would make for a fantastic wife and a great mother," Noah said, guessing this was what the man was asking about, only to hear him burst out into laughter.