Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there,

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

-*-

I don't know exactly what was different this time, but the day after he threw me to the ground in anger, splitting open the skin on my knees and elbows, I knew I was leaving.


At four o'clock on a Monday afternoon, I sat at a table amongst the humming mass of students making their way to class, taking solace in the warmth of the ground floor of the university's main teaching building.

Alice and I sat in silence, grabbing on for dear life to each other's hand, silent tears trickling down our faces as I stared into her caramel eyes; a mixture of the fear and pain from what I had told her and the pure relief of my decision that it was over.

Although on the surface it would have appeared completely exposing, but the constant stream of people provided a barrier of sorts; protecting our conversation from those sitting too closely and providing a warmth in the mass of the everyday.

"You've made the right decision, Bella" Alice said looking across the small, unsteady table at me.

"I know," I replied honestly. I did know. I had known for the last four years what the right decision was. The right decision for my body, my soul, my rights. I knew exactly what I would have said if another woman going through the same thing came to me for help; all the catchphrases and buzzwords, the organisations to contact, the steps to take.

But things were so different when you were experiencing it yourself; the objective analysis failed the subjective experience.

Although I may not be the most outspoken and loud person, but I stood my ground and I even called myself a feminist. People assumed that this meant that I couldn't be a victim of an abusive partner. Ironically, it was often his excuse why I was.

"Bella?"

I looked up to see Alice's worried face watching me. "It's going to take some time, and it's not going to be easy, but you really will be okay." As much as I tried to disagree with her in my mind, the conviction with which she spoke gave me a moment of strength.

"It's not so much the end of the relationship, Alice, that upsets me, it's the knowledge that he's not going to make this easy for me, that he'll try everything to get me back and in the past, I haven't been strong enough to hold out." I felt that just by saying it out loud, I reduced the chance of exactly that happening. Alice smiled knowingly at me, before reaching across the table to grab my other hand with hers. "You know that I'll be here for you, Bella, and although you've probably felt that you've had to deal with this on your own for so long, you don't have to deal with this alone from now on."

I looked up into her eyes and couldn't help the tears of gratitude and relief spill down my cheeks. Within seconds, Alice had swept over to me and pulled me into her deceptively strong arms.

She held me tight against her small body, removing all of the nervousness and uncertainty I felt at what was lying ahead of me.


Opening Poem
Robert Frost, "The Road Less Travelled"

Author's Note:

~Hello and welcome to my first fanfiction, Depth of Soul !!~ The prologue above intends to provide a bit of background insight to the beginning of Bella's journey. Throughout this story, Bella and Edward will explore the connection that exists between them; initially through finding their own inner strengths and soul (a bit angsty ;P ) with the hope of their realisation of the depth of the love between them and their souls. You can take this notion of a soul as spiritual or non-spiritual; my understanding of this is the person you are, who looks out of your eyes and interprets the world around you. More than your physical body, or your intellect and rational mind, this is an exploration of the driving forces within us and the source of the feelings tying us to another person, inextricably on a deeper level. I hope to weave my love (and Bella & Edward's!) of wonderful food, music and literature throughout the story; elements of life that, although perhaps a bit Bacchic, go with love to define life!

As with in the original, the force that brings Edward and Bella together transcends history; what if their story was not the first time their souls had experienced their love? What if throughout history, and reflected in literature, they've been brought together; their souls and love a golden thread throughout centuries?

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