Barricade -- chp 1 --

"Are you still there?" 1

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Dim-lit torches lined the barren walls of the room, flickering solemnly as if in a dance. The flames illuminated a feminine figure slumped at the corner, sobs racking her petite body.3

It's been 3 days since she was isolated in that lonely, decrepit room. Sunlight was now a foreign thing to her, as were the chirping of birds and the sweet summer breeze. It had took her every ounce of energy she had to break out of the room, but alas, she had not been successful and instead had been injured instead.4

Her bruised knuckles whitened when she clenched her fists in the cold. There was nothing that could give her solace or comfort right now, and she knew that all too well. The room she was in was too silent, too grim... too deserted. Her sniffles decreased as she tried to stand up, to move at the very least.5

She staggered and leaned on the wall for support as she stood up, wiping tears that had decorated her lashes. There was only one reason why she was very much depressed.6

It wasn't the fact that she was kidnapped. It wasn't the fact she was trapped in a room with no light and escape route. And it surely was not the fact that she was alone and missed her family. The genuine reason behind her emotional breakdown was him, and only him.7

His was the face she saw last before losing consciousness at the clutches of rogue thieves. His were the hands she held last before the thieves took her captive. His were the eyes she drowned in last before they got separated. Having not seen him in days hurt her, made her eyes prickle and her breath heavy, wondering if he would come save her or simply forget about her and move forward.8

The warmth they had long shared was gone, she hadn't felt heat in endless hours. Her health was deteriorating quickly, and she knew (but would not admit it to herself in fear) that she could and probably would die soon.9

But as she sighed despondently, she felt a tingling in her body and a soft spark emanated from within her. In inexplicable instinct, she pressed her ear to the cemented wall and winced at the cold.10

She was most likely out of her mind in doing something so juvenile, so peculiar at that, but she couldn't resist and her ears picked up a soft noise coming from the other side of the wall, a noise so akin to that of a watch wrapped in cotton: the beating of a heart.11

She whispered a small "I love you," to no one in particular and sank down to the floor, left cheek still connected to the wall. She felt a wave of warmth awash her when the words she had muttered a while ago were reciprocated with an "I love you too," from the meter-thick wall and then she was in no doubt that he had come.12

Even if it was just plain instinct that had made her believe that he had come for her, she thought it was best to believe anyway since it was an opportunity to feel warmth once more.13

She'd been stupid to believe that he would let go of her ever-so-quickly.14

-- TBC --15

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