A Lonely Walk

A small rabbit sat beside a tree, watching a young woman with black hair and dressed in black down to the tip of her skirt cross the street. It was lightly raining and night had fallen only four hours before. The rabbit hopped into the darkness of the trees. 1

The woman entered the apartment complex, glad that no one was around to see the tears that drenched her face. She was by herself now, the person that had supported her, the Royals had taken. She felt an empty, dull ache where her heart had been ripped away when he had been taken, his eyes pleading for her to run... so she did. She ran, hiding in trees and jumping fences, using the shadows and her Halloween dress to hide as the villains that had taken her love tried to take her as well. How? she screamed at herself, inspecting the building they had been hiding in. How had they known? How did a harmless night of trick-or-treating end like this? Her despair brought fresh tears to her eyes. The rain grew heavier. She climbed one last fence and dropped to the stairs on the other side, following them up and turning the corner. 2

Her last hope that he had escaped was crushed as she saw the blankets still in the same place her love had set them this morning, his stuff still there but the two bags they had had with them were still not there. She stood, still feeling the water run off of her face and arms as she steadily dried under the patio roof. Now she crushed the emotions that threatened to escape as the rain got even heavier on the roof, she crushed them into the smallest area of her mind, trying to do now what he had wanted her to do all along. She knew her body needed sleep, needed nourishment, so she set out the blankets and grabbed a can of tuna. That was as far as she got before she felt a snap throughout her mind and her emotions flooded her mind and body. She fell into the blankets, dropping the unopened tuna, and cried. She cried and cried until the rain slowed to a drizzle and finally stopped. 3

She was exhausted and hungry but she couldn't sleep and she felt sick when she even looked at the tuna. She sat for a long time, staring at the blanket she had shared with him only yesterday. When the sun rose, she still had not moved. After a short while, she stood, her face blank, and left to find a bathroom. A half an hour later, she returned, this time with a purpose. She packed up her stuff first, and then his, and re-hid everything. She left it all there, hoping it was safe while she went to a friend's house for help. 4

Nearly eight hours later, with the sun low in the sky, the poor woman returned. Her face was tear-streaked and dirty but she was wearing different clothes now. Pajama bottoms and a white shirt. She tore a sheet of paper from her binder and wrote a few sentences on it, trying so hard not to cry again. She knew it was her fault he was taken by the Royals, she hoped he would forgive her. The woman took their stuff, bag by bag, the note still in her hand, until there was nothing left. She came back up one last time, her tears overfilling her eyes, and looked around the place where, two days ago, she had been happy in. She took a full tuna can from the pocket of her jacket and set it in the metal bin that had held their blankets. The note was under it. She turned away from it, shaking, tears streaming, and slowly made her way back to hell.