I have to admit that I am not entirely sure where to begin. There are so many things I want to say, so many feelings I want to convey in you. In short words, you are my inspiration, my reason for living...My God, I love you so.

He said that to me the very first time I ever saw him. Those were the first sentences that he uttered from the beautiful, yet terrifying lips of his. At the time, I did not know what to say. When I think back on it, and relive that moment, I still cannot come up with a sufficient reply. I was so young, so very, very young. Only seventeen. He was the first man to ever say something like that to me, and because of that, I suppose I did not believe him.

My story starts with a very ordinary, simple day...or so I thought.

I returned late from school that Thursday, because of a terrific snow storm that was powerful enough to slow traffic to a stop for three hours, yet somehow it was not bad enough for schools to be closed.

I walked into the front door and gasped at the darkness within the house. Usually my father would have been home by that time, but I soon realized that he too was probably caught in this hideous blizzard as well.

With a deep breath I closed the door and quickly hit the wall switch, and the room became illuminated immediately. I gave a sigh of relief as I looked down at my snow covered shoes, that were at the moment causing a small puddle on the floor.

You see, I hate the dark. Ever since I was a young child I would have this tremendous fear of it. I guess I feel unsafe when I am unable to see my surroundings, but I think it is more likely that I fear that something is out in that darkness. Something that is ready and simply waiting for the opportune time to reach out and...

I got carried away, sorry. The point is that I cannot stand the dark.

I stood stiffly as I let my backpack hit the ground with a bang, and rolled my aching shoulders. Even just walking from my car to the door with that damn thing made my muscles scream. Undoing the zipper quickly, I carelessly tossed my coat on the floor beside me as I knelt down to loosen the knot in my shoelaces. The first shoe was untied when I heard something that made my body freeze.

"Christine," a muffled voice called out. "Get out of here! Run!"

My hands paused in mid air. I shifted my head from side to side, trying to see where that voice came from, or even if there was a voice at all. Did I really hear anything? It might have been the wind outside, or the neighbors, but...there it was again! Someone calling my name! It only took me a second to realize that it was my father's voice, and it sounded like he was in trouble.

"Dad!" I stood quickly, and screamed his name.

What happened next only took a matter of mere seconds. The hallway light suddenly switched off, and the only bit of brightness streamed in small beams from the street lamps. I looked wildly around me, and my eyes focused on a tall figure only a few steps away. I screamed in fright and my body jumped. The jerking movements suddenly made my feet slip on the puddle of water beneath my feet, and I fell...hard onto the wooden floor.

I lost consciousness very quickly, but the last things I heard, were the sounds of my head banging, loudly onto the floor, and the sound of an intake of breath, that sounded like a male's...and it wasn't my fathers.