Ruth

“Beginnings are clear in books and movies; they’re the crackling of a new binding, the swell of music. They have titles and first lines, obvious starting points. But in my actual every day, beginnings and endings seem so twisted together that sometimes I can’t tell them apart.

There is no crescendo of music, no movie moment that helps me realize I’m finally on the verge of something new. Very often, I don’t even realize the beginning happened until I’m remembering back.”

- SUSIE Magazine

Sometimes I wish life were like a movie. You know, with sound effects, cheesy romance scenes, and background music to let you know when the big scene is coming up. It would make it a lot easier to tell the beginning of the story from the end.

But sadly, real life isn’t like a movie. The ending and the beginning sometimes blur together. Sometimes what you think is a beginning is really the ending…and sometimes what you think is the ending, is actually the beginning. For example, what I thought was my beginning was when I bumped into a man named Kilion at my college.

Years later when I lost him and when I left with my mother-in-law for her hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, I thought that was the end of my story. Little did I know that it was only the beginning of something else.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ve left things out and haven’t told you the backstory. Let me start at the beginning, which doesn’t even begin with me. In fact, it began before I was even born. It began with my mother-in-law, who was starting out on an adventure of her own…



The story began with Naomi and her husband Elimelech, who she called Eli for short. They lived in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but when Eli lost his job the economy hit them hard and they were forced to move somewhere else. Naomi had a relative in Seattle who could secure a job for her and her husband, so they moved there with their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion.

It was 10 years later, when Kilion was in his second year of college that I entered the picture. We ran into each other at the college-quite literally, I might add. He was rushing from the cafeteria to his next class and I was rushing to my class. We were both turning the corner, and he actually knocked into me with enough force that I fell into the nearby fountain.

I was so mad that he ruined my new shirt that I actually pulled him into the fountain with me. We ended up splashing each other-and getting yelled at by campus security-but ever since that day we were inseparable. It wasn’t a big surprise to anyone, when a year later we were married.

Naomi became one of my close friends, even though we were years apart in our age, and I also became friends with Kilion’s brother’s wife, Orpah (but everyone like to call her Oprah to tease her.) I thought I’d found my ‘happily ever after’ when the unspeakable happened.

It was like any other day. There were no storm clouds to match the events that were about to unfold. There was no lightning to warn us of the things that would happen. There was no sense that something terrible happened until we found out from the hospital.

Naomi, Orpah, and I were in the kitchen, preparing a picnic for the next day, which was the Fourth of July. We always had a picnic with the whole family, and this year was no exception. We were preparing the vegetables and other food while Eli, Mahlon, and Kilion went out fishing on the nearby lake to catch some fish. Nobody suspected what actually happened.

I can still remember where I was standing when we got the phone call. I was at the counter, packing the supplies in a big basket when the phone rang.

Naomi put down the pie she just took out of the oven and picked it up.

“Hello?” There was a pause. “This is she.”

Suddenly there was a crash. I whipped around to see a terrified look on Naomi’s face and the phone broken on the floor. I put down the marshmallow’s and ran over to Naomi, grabbing her by the shoulder.

“What is it, Naomi? What’s wrong?” I asked, worried. I’d never seen that look on her face before.

“That was the hospital. They said there’s been an accident with my husband and they need us there as soon as possible,” Naomi choked out before running for the door. I looked over at Orpah to see her eyes widen in surprise as we ran after Naomi and jumped in the car.

We later learned that the boat capsized, but they all had gashes all across their legs, arms and waist. The detective pieced together what happened afterwards. Kilion had accidentally caught an alligator with his fishing pole, and the alligator pulled with such a force that Kilion fell overboard, capsizing the whole boat. They all fell in and Mahlon, the only one who didn’t know how to swim, died. Kilion and Eli were attacked by the alligator who then dragged them under and drowned them both. A jogger saw their bodies floating on top of the water and called the police. The funerals were closed casket, for obvious reasons.

After that we were all in a state of shock and denial for about two weeks, and then we were in a state of grief for about a month, but through the whole thing we stayed with each other. We were like our own little support system, and we looked out for each other.

That month was like a blur to me. I don’t remember much, but I do remember one conversation like it happened only a day ago. Orpah and I had been sitting in the living room, watching TV, while Naomi was in her room, knitting something to keep busy.

“Somebody up there must really hate us,” Orpah remarked darkly when a commercial came on. I turned to look at her.

“You mean God?” I asked. She rolled her eyes.

“No, the man on the moon. Of course God!” she said sarcastically.

“God doesn’t hate us, Orpah,” a voice behind us said, determined. We both turned to see Naomi standing in the hallways, staring at us intently.

“Oh, yeah? Then why would He kill your husband and your only two sons?” she challenged. A pained expression came across Naomi’s face, but she quickly pushed it away. Out of the three of us the deaths hit her hardest and understandably so. Not only had she lost her husband of 40 years, but she lost her two sons, and all in one day.

“Sometimes God works through tragedy to do good things,” she said.

“How could anything good come out of this?” Orpah shot back.

Naomi bit down on her lip. “I don’t know. Only God does.”

Orpah opened her mouth to say something else but Naomi walked away before she could. When I heard her bedroom door close I turned to glare at her.

“You didn’t need to say that! She’s hurting too, you know,” I said before turning back to the TV. We remained quiet between us for the rest of the day, and things started to pass by in a blur again.

After a couple months things had calmed down, even though we were nowhere close to being healed. We were learning how to keep on functioning with this tragedy still so fresh in our minds when Naomi announced she was leaving to go back to her husband’s hometown, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She said this house carried too many memories.

At first both Orpah protested, but after she saw Naomi she had made up her mind she told her she was going with her. But after a few minutes of arguing about it Naomi convinced her it would be better for her to stay in Seattle. She would be with her friends and family and have a better chance of finding love again, Naomi said. After a tear-filled farewell Orpah hugged Naomi goodbye.

I left while they were saying their goodbyes, not even bothering to say a word. I raced home, packed up my belonging and the next day, I drove back to Naomi’s house with my suitcases and boxes in the trunk of my car. When I pulled up I saw Naomi loading similar boxes and bags in the trunk of her car. I stepped out and she looked up, surprised.

“What are you doing here, Ruth?” she looked down and saw a suitcase in my hand. “And why do you have a suitcase?”

“I’m coming with you, Naomi,” I said firmly.

“No, dear. Your place is here with your friends and family,” she said, walking over to me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

“I don’t have any family. Both my parents are dead and I have no siblings. You’re all I have left, you’re my family now,” I said stubbornly, grabbing both of her hands in mine. “No matter what you say, I’m not staying here. I’m going with you, even if I have to follow you in my own car all the way to Bethlehem.”

She let out a sigh before giving me a small smile. “Alright, but what are you going to do about your car?”

“I’ll call Orpah once we get to Bethlehem and ask her to sell me car for me. I also called a real estate company last night and my house is already for sale. My place is now with you, wherever you go.”