They stayed together until her final draft was sent off to the publisher, and then she moved into an apartment of her own. It wasn't as fancy, but it was hers and hers alone. He helped her pack and drop off boxes. They hugged one last time in front of her new home and then, just like that, he was gone.

It was over.

Sarah felt mentally and emotionally exhausted by it all. She needed time to regroup. And hopefully she could do just that in this next chapter in her life.

It was weird to be on her own again after so long. She thought so much about Jareth during those first few weeks, but she ultimately decided she needed the time by herself to sort herself out - and nobody liked being the rebound. The longer she waited, the more awkward it felt. They hadn't talked in years. What if she wished, but he didn't show? Did he even still love her? Had he moved on when he knew she was with Alex? He might even be married by now. She couldn't bear the thought that she had waited too long, so she waited even longer. It was surely too late by now. The very last thing she's ever want is to see him one more time only for him to shrug and apologize that she had tarried too long - or perhaps worse, to have her wish fall on empty air and never see him again no matter how fervently she begged.

In other regards, her life seemed to be going fairly well - until she received an email from a friend she hadn't talked to in ages.

It was a link to a celebrity gossip site. And she was in it.

It was just a small blurb, no more than a handful of paragraphs, but Sarah couldn't help but be skeeved out at the thought of people wanting to poke their noses into her personal business - in this case, rumours of her and Alex breaking up.

She swore up and down she'd leave it at that, she wouldn't go search out any more of this kind of thing.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she spent hours finding all sorts of forum posts and articles and speculation and very rude comments. It was too much. She shut off her computer. She tried avoiding it altogether, but when later that week she noticed someone in the grocery store gawking at her, she knew drastic measures were called for.

It was at 2am, neon computer screen blaring the hot pink of the travel site over her robe and wine glass, that she screwed up her face and covered it with her hands.

Please, she thought silently. Please, if I haven't messed it all up. I know that so much has changed, and it was all so long ago, but if there's a chance... Any chance at all...

She began packing her bags the next day, keeping it light. So much she could buy when she got there, so much she didn't really need. She printed out the tickets and headed to airport, large dark sunglasses and wide brimmed hat.

She needed a vacation, and she was going to get one.

It was late when the taxi reached the front of the ski lodge. She had only enough energy to check in to her room, shove the suitcases in the corner, and fall face-first into the mattress.

So far, so good.