!exclusive!: Ruth Mom Pov

I kissed Orpah first. She wept, and I wept, and we both knew she would stay. Moab was her home. Her gods were there. Her future was there. I told her, "Go back. The Lord bless you with a new husband." And she went. May the Lord indeed bless her. She was a good girl.

Let them talk. They do not know the half of my story. And they certainly do not know my Ruth. ruth mom pov

I didn't tell them about Ruth. Not yet. Let them wonder about the young Moabite woman following me like a shadow. Let them assume she was a servant, a hanger-on, a charity case. I kissed Orpah first

They grew tall. They married Moabite women—something I never would have allowed back in Bethlehem, but what is a mother to do when there are no Jewish girls for miles? Orpah was practical, solid as a stone wall. And Ruth… Ruth was like water. Quiet at first, then impossible to hold back. Her gods were there

I have buried a husband. I have buried my boys. Do you understand what that does to a woman? It hollows her out. You become a walking echo. You stop being "Naomi" and become "the one whom the Lord has afflicted."