She ran.
Barefoot through the halls, she ran, screeching like a madwoman.
NO, she thought. No, no, no, no, no!
Her life suddenly felt like a torturous time warp, everything around her slowing down to an agonizing blur and all of a sudden, her feet could no longer carry her fast enough.
Her heart broke as seconds ticked by and she sobbed with pent-up frustration as she sped down the corridor. The women at the desk gave her strange looks as she ran past them at superhuman speed, almost slipping on the white marble floors once.
She reached the elevator and entered it.
"Ground floor!" she screamed, as she jabbed the button forcefully several times until the metal doors resentfully closed. She leaned against the cold steel wall behind her, needing all the support she could get to hold herself up.
"Wait for me. Wait for me…I'm coming, wait for me", she whispered fervently as she closed her eyes and hot tears slid down her cheeks. Ding! The elevator doors opened. Like her life depended on it, and at this moment it truly felt like it did, she bolted fast out of the suffocating contraption.
Her long wild mane of hair which was usually held back in a sleek ponytail was a tangled mess now. Several stray curly locks of golden-brown covered half of her tear-stained face, slightly masking the insane look in her watery eyes.
Thud, thud, thud, thud. The sound of her heavy footsteps resounded through the quiet building as she raced across the sickeningly white lobby. Pushing through the glass doors, she stepped out onto the cool dew-moist grass.
A soothing gentle whisper of a breeze blew by and her white cotton dress fluttered in the wind. Everywhere she looked, there were tall pine-trees surrounding the vast verdant perimeter. A flock of birds approached, nonchalantly flew right above her in a disciplined triangle and abruptly dispersed in the air. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight as she gazed into the clear blue sky. The sun would not set for an hour or two; she still had time.
She took a deep breath and continued running until she reached the mound up ahead and after that, she still kept on going.
The evergreen hill was steep and unforgiving. She was so tired; she feared her legs would give out.
Still, she ran.
He promised he would be there. "Oh god…please be there, wait for me!" she breathed.
Her laborious climb protracted to an eternity and before she knew it, it was almost sunset. The skies had taken on an amber hue laced with streaks of gold and scarlet, while the remaining rays of sunlight cast a dim orange glow on the meadow. The entire setting was eerily serene and devastatingly beautiful.
Her heart pounded hard as she got closer and closer to their spot on the lush green expanse of the meadow. Panting, her numb legs slowed down to a halt as she breathlessly reached her destination.
All was quiet. Nothing but the sound of her heavy breathing could be heard as she stood there… silent and hopeful, overlooking the terrain she had just run across. She had made it.
Maybe it wasn't too late, maybe he was just late, maybe he was still on his way, and maybe there was still a chance.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
She held her breath as she watched in agony, the sun setting in the west. The golden rays faded as the now fleeting sun slowly descended into the lake by the woods. The night cast a blanket of starry darkness upon meadow.
She choked on a sob and fell to her knees in despair. Her moans of misery echoed in the hills and her body shook uncontrollably, racked with her cries of woe.
Finally, after what felt like hours, she wiped the stray tears from her face, only to shed more in their wake.
As reality treacherously set in, and the tragic truth finally hit her, two words she had tried so long to deny finally escaped her quivering lips in a broken whisper. "He's gone."
Author's Note: I was a bit skeptical at first because I know this is different - there was no specific backstory or plot, but I really only wanted to capture one moment in time.
Hope you enjoyed it, though! :) Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW!
- The Paragon