The woman in the red dress stepped into the apartment and set down her purse on the small table just inside the door. A soft melody began to play somewhere in the background while the door closed behind her with a hiss. She smiled. It was their song, the one he always turned it on when she came to visit.
"Hello?" she called out and scanned the interior of the apartment, a smile on her lips. "I'm here."
The music continued to play. There was no response.
"Honey?" she called out again, her eyebrows now furrowed.
She stepped into the living room as she unbuttoned her coat and draped it over a chair. Her eyes were drawn to a large bouquet on the table next to the dark red couch. She paused for a moment to take in the beautiful red and purple blooms. A grin spread across her face as she inhaled the sweet fragrance that grew in intensity as she approached the vase and touched a petal with her finger. They were her favorite. He had outdone himself tonight.
With a giggle, she picked up and opened the envelope next to the vase. He must be running late. It wasn't the first time, and he always made it up to her, one way or another.
What would he do this time? A shiver ran down her spine as her mind danced through the possibilities.
She extracted the note from the envelope and unfolded it. As her eyes danced over the letter, from side to side, her smile faded, replaced by lips tightly pressed together. A quiver escaped her lips as her hands shook. Her breathing quickened, and a tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. A small stain appeared on the note as the tear-soaked into the paper and then dried up almost as soon as it had appeared.
Her trembling hands attempted to return the note to the envelope as if she had never seen it, as if what was written would fade away once out of sight. When the note refused to cooperate, she crumpled it up in her hand and let it drop to the floor as she exhaled a shaky breath and let her eyes scan the apartment.
It had been theirs to share, to visit anytime they wanted. Here they could be together, away from the disapproving eyes of the world around them. They could share one another without care. It had been the beginning of something that would last a lifetime.
That's what he had said. Together, just the two of them. As eternal as Proxima Centauri, the Eternal Sun visible through the window in front of her.
She had believed him.
The life-giving rays of the sun were symbolic of their future together, he had said. The sun hovered right above the horizon, its presence always sure, as their relationship would be. When the words had come out of his mouth, it had sounded so good, so perfect. It still did, she admitted to herself, yet the crumpled up note on the floor told a different story.
Before she realized what she was doing, the flowers were airborne, hurtled through the air towards the window. A scream emerged from her lips as the vase shattered against the window. The view of Proxima Centauri was temporarily obscured as the water ran down the window and pooled on the floor. Breathing heavily between sobs as tears flowed down her cheeks, the woman stared at the flower petals that danced through the air with grace, mesmerized by their slow descent to the floor.
It was over.
Fueled by a wave of growing anger, she turned and walked across the room, through the door to the bedroom. The panoramic windows faced the darkness of the northern Shadowlands where the cold never ended, and the rays of the sun never reached. She should have stayed there, away from the warm glow of romance she had found herself embraced in when she met him. The promise of happiness and a better life had been too good to turn down. His charm had won him over. Had it all been empty words? Had she been so foolish?
She picked up the picture frame on the nightstand and threw it against the wall as a grunt escaped her mouth. Glass fragments scattered as she wiped tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath and walked back to the living room, ignoring the glass crunching under the soles of her shoes. As she reached the door, she turned and looked around one last time, her hand rubbing her bulging stomach.
He had broken his promise.
He had left her behind.
He had left them behind.
She slammed the door shut behind her as she walked away.
One way or another, he will pay.