So I haven't published anything in a long time, but the site that used to host these stories went down awhile back, and I decided that I wanted to archive them somewhere. All of these stories are complete, but I will still post them in chapter fashion. I used to write as "rerio" on that site. If you've read these stories before, please let me know! It's been a long time since I've talked to anyone on the site. If you haven't read my stories before, welcome.

~~~~ST~~~~

~~~~ST~~~~

Reston, VA

June 25

The sky was clear the night that Linda Martin died; in fact, the weather had been nice for several days. Linda had been thrilled when Jeremy suggested an evening picnic in the park. Between his job and her schoolwork, they didn't get much time to be together. The park near the college had been beautiful under the moonlit sky, and Jeremy had surprised her by bringing candles to light their dinner. Bach echoed softly from the small cd player that Linda had borrowed from her roommate. Jeremy, being from the south, had declared that fried chicken was the only real picnic food, and so they had gotten their fingers messy and raised their cholesterol levels and had a wonderful time.

They had only been dating for eight months, but both knew it was the real thing. Their families liked each other, and they had the same interests and goals. Most importantly, they shared a deep and abiding faith in God. Linda planned to graduate in a year, and they had spoken of a summer wedding. Things just couldn't have been much more perfect that calm starry night. After they finished dinner, Jeremy walked her back to campus. They kissed, a kiss that made the stars in the sky come dizzyingly close to earth.

"I should go in," Linda whispered.

Jeremy ran a finger down her cheek. "I'll see you the rest of the way."

"No, that's okay. You have to be at work early in the morning." And if you don't leave now, I won't be able to let you go, Linda thought.

Jeremy pressed one more quick kiss to her hair. "I'll call you tomorrow," he promised as he left.

Linda walked the rest of the way to her dorm, dreaming about wedding dresses and cake toppers.

"Did you have a good time?"

Linda whirled around, breathless. "Oh, you startled me! Yes, I had a wonderful time tonight. What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you." The reply was low and furious.

"What–" Linda stopped as she say the knife flash silver in the moonlight. Too late, she tried to run. The blade fell once, twice, too many times to count. Linda didn't die quickly. She had time to think about her parents, her brothers, Jeremy...

"Jeremy," she whispered. The last image she saw was the perfect sky above her.