Chapter 3

Return

Sarah slowly approached her car, making sure that everything was accounted for. As she closed her purse, her eyes flickered over to her bare wrist. Only moments before, her watch that she had accepted from her mother had been clipped on her wrist, but it was there no longer. "God damnit!" Sarah cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth together.

Could nothing in her miserable life go according to plan? Apparently not, Sarah thought with distaste, turning back towards the library. As she began to walk back towards the building, something splashed on her cheek, inches away from her scar. Her hand flew towards her cheek, and looked up towards the sky.

The dark, ominous clouds swirled over head, their bellies swelled with tears that the sky desperately wanted to release. These tears from the sky leaked softly out of the darkened clouds, which Sarah caught in her open palm. She looked up into the sky, and was rewarded with a sudden down pour of rain. It was as if someone had tipped over a bucket of water on her head. Within seconds, she was soaked. "Thanks Universe," she muttered, sighing.

The snow quickly turned into grey slush, mingling with the city filth. Suddenly, her legs gained energy, and she ran back towards her car, placing her hands over her head as if to provide shelter. Her fingers slipped on her car keys, and she dropped them on the ground.

"No!" she yelped, bending down to fetch them. But, the water carried them away from her, under the car. "Come back!" she shouted, getting down on her hands and knees, one arm underneath the car.

The hard gravel bit into her knees, leaving indents, but she didn't care. If she lost those keys, she would have to run home! By car, it took her roughly an hour to get here, so by foot would be much longer, and she hated taking the bus. Her slender fingers closed on something shaped like her car keys, and she pulled it out.

Opening her closed fist, Sarah grinned as her car keys were revealed. Her brown hair now hanging to wet strands, she pulled it back as she unlocked her car. As the door opened, she slipped in as quickly as she could, soaking the seat beneath her. She closed the door quickly, and started it up. "Thank you," she muttered as she backed up, and drove away.

!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

Sarah opened her apartment door, shivering as the air conditioning froze the water on her skin. She ran towards the shower, already peeling off her water logged clothing. The warm water massaged out her tense muscles, and the shivering subsided.

After what seemed forever, Sarah stepped out, a towel wrapped around her naked body, another for her hair. She walked out of the bathroom, heading towards her bedroom, when she noticed something. On the coffee table, a picture frame had been placed in the middle.

Sarah approached it, holding the edges of her towel together. It was faced away from her, so she did not see what photo it held captive behind a thin layer of glass. Very carefully, with scared eyes darting from the frame to around her, she turned it so that she could see what it held.

She sucked in a breath, and drew back, as if her hand was burned. It was the picture of her again, no scar, innocence still present. But, this time, written with elegant hand writing, were the words:

Do you remember?

Enraged, Sarah slid the picture out of the frame, and tore it into small pieces that littered the hard wood floor like confetti. Then, she threw the empty frame in the trash, vowing to kill whoever had broken into her apartment.

Most likely Chris, she thought bitterly, heading back towards her bedroom. After getting dressed into her pajamas, she snuggled under the covers, but her thoughts forced away even the slightest suggestion of sleep.

Remember what? Was this Chris, messing with her head, or was it someone else? If so, what did they want? Sarah straightened up, her damp hair sticking to her neck.

There's no way I'm going to go to sleep, she thought bitterly, dragging her hand down her face in annoyance. As her bare feet padded softly away from her bed, something scratched at her window, which was at the right of her bed.

"God, what now?" Sarah almost yelled, throwing her hands up in exasperation. Stomping her way over, she tore open her curtains, her face twisted in annoyance. Her anger flaming eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. Perched on the railing of the fire escape, was an owl. A barn owl, to be exact. He turned his head towards the young woman on the other side of the window, and flew towards it. Sarah's brown eyes traveled towards his wing, which held the tell tale scar, that was still red.

"It's you," she breathed, opening the window, as if in a trance. Later, she would reflect on this action, and realize how utterly idiotic it was, but at that moment, something seemed to draw a blank. The owl's eyes seemed to smile, and perked on the window sill, inches away from Sarah.

Breathless, she gently ran her fingers down the owl's soft feathers, shocked at how such a frightening predator could feel so soft. The half moon reflected itself in her eyes as she gazed into the owl's, mesmerized. The owl suddenly drew back, and hovered in the air, but the gaze was not broken. Only as something strange came over the bird did Sarah break the endless stare.

The owl seemed to glimmer, his white feathers almost as blinding as snow, and began grow. For a moment, he was beautiful, but then, his face began to distort, as well as his wings. Sarah drew back in fear, her hands flying to her mouth, terror widening her eyes.

What on earth? She screamed silently. The owl, which was less bird, almost humanoid, grew and grew, his feathers turning black. Suddenly, a man stood in front of the young woman's window, grinning, even though exhaustion shone in his mismatched eyes.

His face matched that of the man at the library and the man in the reflection. Her eyes widened more, and she took a step backwards. "That took forever," he said with an annoyed sigh, his British accent light. Her limbs heavy, Sarah drew the curtains back together, and calmly walked away.

Eclipse: Hiya! Sorry about the slightly slower update, I've just had school (bleh) and David Bowie/Jareth to obsess over…. :D

SHOUT OUT

ScarlettBlue – Heehee! Here you are, then! ^^ Thanks so much!

DefyMe – Awww, thanks! That made me feel all warm and fuzzy!