Weeks had passed since the family lost the home they had made on Hershel's farm. Perhaps it had been months now. Dale was the person tracking the days. After his death, Glenn took over, but Carol didn't ask about time anymore. She didn't need to know exactly how many days had passed since she lost her little girl.
They had moved on from the farm, not wanting to look at the grave markers that served as a constant reminder, and settled on another farm in the next county. After a few weeks of moving from one place to another, they eventually stumbled across the place they would try to make a home. It was a small community of ten houses along the banks of a large river. There were a few houses that were left unfinished, most likely due to the construction crews running at the first sign of the outbreak.
After establishing and securing the perimeter, everyone began to split off and call it a night. Daryl decided to stay up and keep watch over their new residence. Hershel and Beth picked one house, while Glenn and Maggie chose one across the street from them. Lori opted to stay with Hershel rather than Rick, claiming it was to be close to the older man if she needed him in the middle of the night. Rick, Carl, and T-Dog took the home next door to The Greene's. Carol, feeling more lost and alone than she had in longer than she could remember, walked towards the quaint bungalow closest to the water.
She wasn't sure why she was still alive when so many others had died. Andrea, Shane, Dale, Ed… Sophia... She wasn't anything special, Carol thought to herself as she curled up on the couch. Daryl's words that one night echoed in her head as she watched the fading sunlight dance across the water. Sure, she wasn't missing her husband, but her little girl had left a giant hole in her heart that may never be fixed. She really didn't know what to do now.
When Carol woke up to the throbbing pain in her head, she shed a few tears as she remembered her thoughts from last night. The words she remembered Daryl yelling at her weren't going to bother her. Not anymore. Daryl wasn't trying to hurt her when he said that, and honestly, he seemed as though he was making every effort to keep her close and safe now. She went into the kitchen to see if she could find something to eat. Instead, she had found a tea kettle, still hot, and a jar of instant coffee next to a clean mug. There was no sign of anyone in the house, but she knew he had made it.
Pulling her feet up underneath her in the adirondack chair that sat at the end of the dock. Life went on all around her, but today, just for now, she wanted a few moments to sit down and will her headache away. She needed to will away the negative thoughts still trying to claw their way to the surface.
Lori was the only one who came to check on her, bringing a blanket to her friend. It wasn't much, but it was just what Carol needed. The women sat and talked for a few minutes, reminding Carol that she wasn't alone, that she had friends. All it took for her to really have a woman to call a friend was the end of the world.
The sound of water splashing pulled them both from their conversation. Carol looked up and saw Daryl spear a fish a little ways up the river from the dock. From the looks of it, they would have a good dinner tonight. Fish was never her favorite, but she hadn't been eating much and her thin frame was starting to show it. Her clothes hung much looser than before and her wedding band spun freely around her thin finger.
Twenty years. That was how long Carol had worn that oppressing weight on her ring finger. A yellow gold band, dulled by age, adorned with a simple round diamond. That diamond had never shined either. It was dull and clouded, just like her brain after a few years with Ed. Deep inside, Carol knew that he had put as much care and concern into picking that ring as he had to their marriage. To be honest, if he hadn't acquired it at a pawn shop or won someone's last precious family heirloom at a poker game, she wouldn't have been given a ring at all.
Lori, sensing her friend was a little more distant than she was a few moments ago, quietly stood up and began to walk back to the house. She had noticed Daryl sneaking glances their way while they sat on the dock. It seemed more often than not that his eyes were trained on Carol while she was none the wiser. Of course, he never seemed to notice the looks Carol gave him either. Lori took one look over her shoulder and saw Daryl give Carol a shy wave. When Carol waved back, she reached down as if she had dropped something.
She moved without thinking and lunged for the ring that had just flown off her finger to get it before it rolled into the water, grabbing it up in the nick of time. Carol sat on the edge of the dock, her toes dangling in the cool, blue liquid, and stared at the ring she held in her hand. She no longer felt anything for the poor excuse for a human being who had given it to her. It was a reminder of her joke of a marriage. It held no meaning and no value. It was worthless.
Gently, Carol rose to her feet and paced along the dock for a moment. The woman who wore that ring was a weak, cowardly woman. Certainly that woman wasn't meant for the world today. Carol was no longer that woman. In that moment, she decided she would be capable, fierce, and brave. She had lost so much, including her only ray of sunshine amongst the constant storm, but she had come out stronger than before. She was shedding her skin.
Turning to face to water before her, Carol put the ring in her right hand and threw it out into the water as far as she could. With it gone, she smiled, and actually laughed at how free she felt from such a simple action. She should have done that sooner she thought.
She suddenly felt as though someone was watching her. Casting her eyes across the pond, she locked eyes with Daryl. He gave her a half smile and a nod as he started heading her way with all of the fish he had caught. Carol couldn't help but think things were off to a great start as she walked off of the dock to meet him.