Show: General Hospital

Title: Las Vidas de los Corinthos II: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you liked the story so far. I apologise for the delay. I was away from home for one thing, and second of all, I had some serious writers block. I must have started this chapter like 3 times before I got the finished product out. I hope you like it; it was hard enough to write.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Port Charles, New York, (the same day)

Three hundred miles away, Alexis Davis frowned as she set the receiver back on the hook.

"That's strange," she muttered.

"What? What's wrong, corazon?"

Alexis shrugged, running a hand through her loose chestnut mane, the burnished gold and reds of the sunset lighting her hair on fire as it streamed through the open drapes at the window. "That's the third time I've called Elizabeth for the day, and there's still no answer."

Sonny frowned as well, but kissed his beautiful fiancée on her lips. "Don't worry, she's probably catching up with some friends."

Alexis wanted to deny that - something was not quite right. With a mother's instinct she knew it, but she didn't want to voice her opinions just yet. She smiled and followed Sonny to the dining-room table where he had just set down a bottle of wine. "What's for dinner?"

*~*~*~*~*~*

At the tinkling of the tiny bell over the door, Jason Morgan turned to see his fiancée shrugging on her coat as she walked toward him.

"Hi, honey," she greeted, pecking him on the lips.

Jason gifted her with one of his customary half-grins and tucked an errant lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Courtney asked, coming to stand in front of him, wrapping his arms around her, wallowing in his warmth.

She was speaking about the sunset. They stood watching it together as the sun descended as a great ball of fire on the horizon lighting the sky with gold and red and orange, colours too vibrant, too vivid for words to give justice to. Beautiful seemed too simple to encompass the sight - it was awe- inspiring. For some inexplicable reason, Jason could feel a hard lump of emotion sticking in his throat.

"Yes," he replied huskily, hugging Courtney to him tightly. "It sure is."

*~*~*~*~*~*

New York City (one day later)

Of their own volition Elizabeth's eyes snapped open, and she was almost blinded by the intensity of the sun, shining high overhead. Sometime during the night, she had crawled from her couch onto the hardwood floor, where she sat with her knees drawn to her chest, watching the sparkling lights of the city below.

Her vision blurred from lack of sleep, food and water, the lights had spun and swirled on their blanket of black, melding into one continuous colour. They were like tiny beacons, beckoning her toward them, but Liz had neither the strength nor the inclination to bother.

Now the sky was a brilliant bright blue and, though she could not hear the cacophony of the busy city so far below her, she could see the people, small as ants, rushing about with their lives.

She had a life too; somewhere inside her she had the will to start over, just not now.

Her gaze swept upwards, past faraway billboards and neon signs and church steeples and high-rise hotels and skyscrapers, to the brilliant cerulean blue of the sky where the yellow-white orb of the sky shone. The only attempt she made to shield her eyes was to shade them with her hand. But she couldn't look away. She liked the emptiness of the sky. Free from smog or power lines. Empty. Empty. Empty. Just like her.

Just then, her eyes caught sight of something that dared to intrude on the solitude of the deep blue. As though mesmerized, she watched a black balloon drift higher and higher as if searching for the heavens. As it bobbed and weaved in the wind so high, Liz followed it fascinated.

She slowly trudged to her feet, pressing herself against the glass as the wind pushed the black balloon closer to her building. When it was no more than twenty feet from her window, Liz reached out as if to touch it, silently willing it to come closer.

As if hearing her call the balloon drifted closer. Bobbing in the wind, it's beribboned tail fluttering in the wind. **So beautiful** she mouthed as she stared entranced. When it was right outside the window, Liz lifted a tentative hand as though she could touch it. The balloon bobbed and weaved, bobbed and weaved, floating gently on the wind currents.

A tentative smile found it's way to Liz's lips as it bumped into the glass window. She reached like a child to touch it. POP!

The balloon burst. Withering in an instant. The beribboned string all that was left of it, fluttering away from her on the wind.

Liz started to cry.

TBC..

A/N: I know the chapter's kinda short, but I'll try to update a lot sooner than the last time. Please R&R people, I want to know what you think.