A/N: Hey everyone, this is a new fic I'm writing. Here's the prologue for you! I hope to keep the updates coming as fast as I can, but unfortunately I do things besides writing, so I can't promise you anything. I hope you'll enjoy though!

Prologue

"Sweetheart, after I'm gone…"

"Daniel, no, don't say that," she argued.

"Regina, please let me finish."

She took his hand in hers and stroked it gently with her thumb, and nodded.

"Listen to me. After I'm gone, I want you to love again. I don't want to, would never want to leave you alone, but I'll have to. In just a short time. And I'm not asking you to forget about me immediately–"

She squeezed his hand and stroked his arm, relishing in the possibility of being with him, for the last days they had together, "Daniel, I will never forget about you. You can't ask that of me. I love you. And I always will."

He started to chuckle, but erupted in a heavy cough instead. Regina grabbed a tissue and held it in front of his mouth, catching the blood coming from his throat. The coughing ceased and he settled back down against the soft pillow of his hospital bed.

"Okay, then always remember me. But also remember this: I don't want you staying behind because of me. If someone comes forward who wants to earn your heart, of whom you think that he is capable of earning it, then please, give it to him. He'll be a good guy. I mean, you have great taste in men." She smiled and cupped his cheek. "But maybe pick one that won't die five years after you marry him."

She shook her head, tears building in her eyes. "I don't want to love you again."

"Oh, but you will. You will find someone, and they will be everything you've ever hoped for."

"But–"

He silenced her by laying his thumb on her lips. "You have so much love to give." He urged her to lay her head in his lap and she did, silently sobbing against his hospital gown. He smelled of disinfectant. Like everything else in this goddamn hospital.

So she took him home.

And now, she's sitting in her empty house, on her cold sofa, staring at the blank wall, thinking about her hollow life. It has been 14 months since Daniel died, just three days after she took him home. He had died in his sleep. She hopes he didn't suffer, knowing damn well he suffered in that whole year in which he tried fighting it, but she's just too frightened to admit it. He didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to die in such a horrid and painful way. He was supposed to be with her until they would both die of old age, together. But she knows life isn't like that, isn't that pretty picture she had in mind. Had in mind, because that's no longer her idea of life. Life is bitter, and cruel, and unfair.

But she knows that it doesn't have to be that way. The time she experienced with Daniel was the best in her life. Though she doubts she will ever live on such a high cloud again, she does think that it can be better than this. All she does is work, sleep, and eat. Her social life consists of visiting her old friends Mary Margaret and David and her godson Neal, going to dinner with her best friend Emma, the town's sheriff, at Granny's, and chatting with some of her colleagues during lunch breaks.

There has to be more to life. So she starts to ponder about what she could do to make her life more interesting, more exciting. She could take on a new adventurous hobby, like rafting or mountaineering. Except there are no wild rivers or challenging mountains nearby. Change jobs maybe? But there's nothing around here she likes besides teaching. She can't think of a single thing that would cheer her up a bit.

And then one day, while cleaning up the attic, she finds an old globe of Daniel's behind a musty curtain. I can go anywhere I want in the world. Do anything I want.

She comes up with the idea while playing with Neal and his squeaky ducky, and after reading some of her father's old journals.

She wants to go to her father's home country and explore this island completely unknown to her. And she wants to do something with children. So why not combine both?

So here she is. Sitting at the airport, waiting at gate 43 for boarding to start. She will be flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she'll travel further to Cataño, a coastal town just outside of the capital. After researching some teaching jobs, she found an even more interesting offer: setting up an orphanage. After the old building burnt down, the locals were looking for volunteers to help them build a new one. When a British corporation was willing to fund the new orphanage, they were ready to start. All they needed was some extra help, help Regina was more than willing to give for such a wonderful cause. They would give her food and shelter in return.

Her cat Ursula will stay with Emma for the next few… weeks, months? She doesn't even know. All she knows is that she's more than ready to go on this adventure.

Who knows what's still in store for me?

What indeed.

A/N: Please review! It means the world to me! Love