Scarlet Rose

Prologue

She remembered the winter cold digging down to her bones. The dark of the night, broken in thousand little pieces by the unstoppable cascading of snowflakes from the sky. The wind relentless and punishing, hitting her from every direction. Her face flaming red, feeling like hot iron. Running without thinking.

The worst snow storm in the history of New York for the last ten years could very well be happening inside her mind because everything was thrown about, feelings, thoughts, all in a violent tumble getting snowed under by what she had experienced a mere hour ago. The tears turning the whites of her eyes painfully cold.

And then she stopped running. Her knees could not hold her any longer. Collapsed in the snow like a rag doll.

She could hear the echoes of his footsteps, running after her in the quiet hospital corridor. She had not the heart to face him. The courage. He was shouting for her to wait. Had not sounded more desperate than that moment.

He was no longer hers. Earlier, she had promised him to that distraught young woman she hardly knew but had saved from diving to her death from the rooftop just that same evening. Two big lost blue eyes staring at her from the sick bed. Her decision. Denounce love, any tender feelings she had for him, dreams, the lot. End the relationship. End the fairytale. End everything. Pack up and go. Leave the young woman and him be. Because fate had tied them together. There wasn't anything for her to say, any possible objection.

So she left. Closed the door behind her. Gathered her composure. His tall figure standing lone in the bare pale corridor made him look even more lonely. Helpless even. She remembers the painful squeeze of her chest. The big lump stuck on her throat, heavy like a rock. She glanced a last time at his eyes, fixed on her. A single goodbye left her lips. Her walking quickly turned into running. Soon, the stairs became a slide. She was almost flying, feeling all the more frantic. Burst through those hospital doors like a gunshot. But his arms that closed around her waist stopped her. Stoped everything. The snowstorm, the wind, their running. Whatever existed was between those arms. She cupped his hands with hers. He pulled her on him. Held her so tight on his chest, she could feel his warmth spreading on her back. His quick heartbeat matched her own.

"Just a little longer...to stay as we are"

She felt his breath on her neck as he begged for the time to stand still. His deep voice resonated close to her ear. It broke when he spoke. His lips grazed the soft skin. The moment she realised he was crying, she could never forget. He loved her. Tears were streaming down her eyes, carving their own paths on her face. She squeezed his hands. She had loved him from the first time she had laid eyes on him.

"Promise me you will be happy Candy...",

He struggled to sound composed. His embrace around her tightened even further. Could he fool fate?

"I will Terry...", she replied and turned her head just slightly towards him.

"Please promise me the same"

Anguish had started sipping in her voice.

"I will Candy..."

She squeezed his hands once more, and then pulled them to break their hold of her waist. In times to come, this move was one of the most difficult she had to do in her life. To let go...

"Goodbye Terry...", she said once more and run.

She thanked the heavy snowfall obscuring her figure, making her disappear from his sight just a few feet from where she left him standing. Uncontrollable sobs overtook her lungs.

She still remembers his arms around her waist. His voice breaking. His tears. The promise. Ten years had passed since. Their break up popped up in her nightmares sometimes but it stayed there. It was about time for her to be happy. Live like there was no tomorrow. Toss the consequences. No more being the victim. After all there was a promise she was determined to keep.