Understanding

"What's so funny?"

"Adelard, I've never seen a man like you."

"That's enough. Let's go."

"I'm not going to the police."

"Then tell me who did this?" Smiling, Celeste dropped the basket and kissed him. The kiss was followed by thunder and lightning, making everyone in town shudder and hide.

"Adelard, you must believe me. If I say it's all right, it's all right. I don't want you to worry so much about me. It's really all right. I was just walking home late at night and somebody accidentally hit me. I just got in a fight between two men. That's all."

"I don't believe you."

"You believe me."

"I can see in your eyes that you're lying. We're going to the police and I'm not stopping."

"Wait! All right! I'll tell you all about it. Just please don't go to the police."

"Then we'll go to another place," Adelard said and threw the basket of dirty laundry away. The gesture made Celeste laugh.

"And where will we go? Are we going to the hospital? I told you I was all right, didn't I?"

"We're going to my house. No, to our house."

"Are you kidding? Adelard, look at me. How am I going to your house?"

"You're my fiancée. So sooner or later, you'll go there." At this, Adelard closed the conversation. By then the rain had stopped and the sun was making the puddles evaporate. The birds began to sing again and people began to open their stalls of goods. The town returned to its rhythm of life. But no one returned from the rain the same. For now, they were all busy discussing Adelard's bride. And when they were seen together, the whole town became the noisiest town in the whole world. Gossip, laughter, and crying filled the narrow streets that became home to perpetual questions. People left their jobs, their children, and even those very children joined everyone. They were looking at them and no one hide their disgust.

Adelard was a soldier, a protector, and these two new roles, he played flawlessly.

"Who is that next to Monsieur?"

"His fiancée."

"Do you know her?"

"No. But I know her name is Celeste."

"Just the name?"

"Yes."

"Did she move here recently?"

"I think so."

"And where does she live?"

"In that forgotten part of the town where the older women live."

"These are women without conscience or pride. Is she one of them?"

"I seldom see her at all."

"She often walks across the bridge holding a basket."

"So strange. No family, no one. All alone. When did Adelard find her? And why her?"

"Maybe she's not his fiancée."

"Then why is he holding her hand?"

"Maybe he just bought her?"

People were falling down with laughter, barely holding back the contents of their stomachs.

"I wonder what Monsieur Adelard is like in bed? He must be very gentle."

"He certainly has a great object of pride." Another wave of laughter covered the whole town.

If one suffered from love, one suffered from laugh. If one suffered from kindness, one suffered from laugh. If someone suffered from wealth, someone suffered from laugh. There has always been laughter, and most importantly, laughter continues to be where it shouldn't be. People tend to laugh when they should feel sad instead of happy. People's laughter knows no boundaries. People are always ready to laugh. The main thing is to have someone to laugh at. It can be a person who follows a dream, it can be a person who is different or a simple lover. Or it can be a sick person who is missing one leg, an arm, or another organ. Laughing at someone has always been what made everyone one. And sometimes, it is because of that laughter that many people are afraid to live their lives the way their hearts tell them to. They just join the ranks of everyone else who laughs. But the problem is that laughter only surrounds unhappiness. And when one is happy, people stop laughing. They begin to cry and poison themselves with the envy. It was the same with all these people. When they saw true love between them, they stopped laughing. And instead, they began to get jealous and the conversation turned to another topic.

"She probably wants to take all his money and run away. Someone like her only thinks about money."

"You're right. She's that kind of woman. And women like that, think about money."

"Yes. I thought Monsieur was very clever. But it turns out he has no brains at all."

"What are you talking about? He helped you with the money, remember? You and your family were starving. And he was like an angel who came and helped you."

"Monsieur is kind, but foolish. I'm sure that woman will throw him out quickly."

"I wonder what Adelard is thinking? Does he even know how to think? Or does he only know how to throw his money around and smile at everybody. What was he thinking when he fell in love with a woman like that? Did you see her? She's so ugly."

"He just liked what she was doing to him at night. That's for sure. Adelard is a simple man, after all. All men have only one thing in their heads."

"She must be doing things that other women don't want to do."

Again the laughter began to delight all who passed by. After all, one might have gotten the impression that this cozy town was very friendly.