Rewind [Paused]

=Chapter One=

"Therefore, what God has joined, let not man separate."

Matthew 19:6

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAUL

I walk out of the bakery to see a child walking by, his hands full of paper bags filled with newspaper. He is looking down at the pavement and almost bumped into the cooking end of a corn dog cart. I was ready to rush towards him, but a girl beat me to it.

She's dark-haired and dark-eyed with straight brows that make her look kind. Ahh, right, Jessicha or Siccha, a famous runner from the other school. She's popular in her field and all over our area. I didn't think I'd actually get to see her in person.

But, hey, you know what? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it isn't Siccha, but the boy was safe now so I didn't really care.

I turn away and set my music, and then I run as fast as I could to school-- can't be late, you know? But I bump into someone on a bike and we crash, and when I got up, the world started to turn dark and a crowd of just clothes stalked towards me. I shouldn't have been scared, but I was because it was so overwhelming, and strangely enough leading it all was a dress. I tried to approach instead to try to figure it all out rather than get cornered, but the more that I moved forward, the farther the whole crowd went and the higher rusted metal rods and rails I didn't notice earlier became, forming a gate.

I frown and run faster, but I fall into a hole and suddenly feel a jolt.

The next thing I knew, I was awake.

"Mom!" I called out as I got out of bed, alert in general, but still groggy in the back of my mind.

Why would I dream of Jessicha?

"Mom?" I heard a soft voice and mirth-filled laughter. Jessicha was beside me, eating cereal from a plastic bowl.

"Get up, Dude. Unless you don't wanna join me on my jog."

I stretched and groaned. "Wait for me."

"Mmkay," she said, her mouth full of food, before leaving me again.

I never expected that Jessicha and I would get married so soon. It was weird to have to get married because of our families when we were already a couple. It's like they made our wedding contractual just so we would do it sooner than intended for other reasons.

I feel like it strained our relationship in some way.

Taking a bath, brushing my teeth, and putting on some office clothes took me about half an hour, and I quickly went down to greet Jessiccha properly.

"Hey," I said, kissing her cheek and grabbing a tupperware of breakfast I know she made for me from the counter. "Let's go?"

She smiled and grabbed her duffel bag. "Let's go!"

We went out back to our garage and I drove us out to the park. That's where I eat while she does her morning jog. She eventually ends up running anyway. Like I wouldn't notice.

She knows I'd prefer if she doesn't run here since there's no definite track or a suitable path for her, but she does it anyway. So I have to keep my eyes on her to make sure she stays safe.

"I'll go now," she prompted so briefly that I almost didn't notice, and jogged off out of my sight.

I settled at a place facing the most dangerous area she'll pass and quietly opened my tupperware to eat. Thankfully, the wind wasn't strong enough to guide some leaves to land on my food. Today, I have fried hot dogs, square fluffy pancakes, ham, a tiny block of butter, and four thin strips of crunchy bacon.