Prologue…

I ran as fast as my body would allow – arms and legs pumping with a ferocity I hadn’t felt for quite some time. My feet hitting the pavement in a quick 1-2 rhythm, almost mirroring the only thought I had.

Get. Her.

Right foot ‘Get’. Left foot ‘Her’.

Get Her. Get Her. Get Her.

There was a time I thought I would never run again. But now I was running for my life. The life I knew I needed, and the only one I wanted. I turned a corner and saw the church steeple poking out behind a horizon of plush green trees.

Almost there.

I picked up the pace, feeling beads of sweat rolling down my forehead and over my face, mingling with salty tears, I in my haste, hadn’t bothered to wipe away. I came to a quick stop when I finally came upon the church. My heart was in that building, and I had come to take back what was mine. Still gasping for air, I wiped my face with the sleeve of my t-shirt and attempted a deep breath to steady myself.

“You have to do this. There’s no other option”, I said trying to boost up my already shaky confidence.

With that, I began a quick jog up to the brown chapel doors. Another deep breath and I gave the handle a good, hard tug.

“*****!”

Locked. The doors were locked. I began beating on the heavy wood with my fists.

“Let me in!”, I cried. “God Dammit, let me in!”

I had been pounding on the doors for at least three solid minutes, as the red and raw skin of my hands would attest to. Surely those inside could hear my frantic pleas. *****, the whole block could probably hear me. I let out one last strangled and pathetic cry. I needed a new plan.

I ran to the side of the church and spotted a row of ornate stained glass windows. Peering inside, my heart dropped to my stomach and the tears flowed again.

Empty.

The chapel was completely empty, save for the hundreds of orchids she was so enamored with, the white silk aisle runner, and candles at the altar that had clearly been lit and then snuffed out. I sank to my knees in the grass, sobbing loudly now.

It was too late. It had already happened.

I leaned up against the cool brick wall of the building, pulled my knees to my chest, and whispered one world before my world went dark.

“Alice.”

TBC