Lucas walks away. Maria stands there, and just as before, she is left crying in the kitchen.
"Why?" Maria thinks, "Why did it have to turn out like this, why couldn't I have my happy ending...?"
Maria tries in a vain attempt to search for the answers in her mind, but nothing is revealed.
Maria's throat is sore from all the crying, she tries to hold back more tears, but a wave of emotion brings them all flowing back again. She steadies herself, and slowly sinks onto the kitchen's tile floor, she weeps not knowing what else to do, Maria looks up at the ceiling and asks, "God... why does everyone hate me?", yet once again, she is given no answer.
Maria cries till she can cry no more, there simply aren't any tears left, she wipes her remaining tears away, and in desperation to make her pain end, she looks outside.
Standing up, she silently opens the doors, and makes her way onto the backyard, there, she slowly walks until she is at the edge of the cliff, Maria looks down into the blue abyss, the ocean violently crashes against the cliff face, the waves of the ocean seem to almost call to her, looking out beyond the horizon, she sees the vibrant orange sun setting once again, just like it does every day.
Maria looks back at the house, the place she's called home her entire life, her prison of never-ending loneliness, she looks back down at the jagged edges of the rocks below her, she can almost imagine her body resting on top of them. She takes a step closer to the edge, a few pebbles fall into the water below. "Fine", she says to herself, "if no one wants me here, then they never have to see me again...", Maria closes her eyes, and putting one foot out, she's ready to dive headfirst into the rocks below.
Suddenly a powerful gust of wind coming from the ocean pushes her enough, just for her to lose her balance, causing her to fall flat on her butt and safely on the ground. Maria quickly opens her eyes, hyperventilating, she tries to catch her breath, as she realizes the only thing between her and death was a single gust of wind. Finally calming down, she stands up and backs away from the cliff edge, and makes her way back into the house.
Returning to her room, she paces around trying to think of a way to use the second chance she had been given. She soon comes to a solution that she should have realized a long time ago, grabbing an old backpack she has in her closet, she quickly stuffs a few items into it, instinctively, she grabs a photo of her and Lucas together, the two are smiling and happy. With a hard swallow, she lays the photo back down, and heads to the kitchen where she ransacks the cupboards for canned food, satisfied, she walks out through the front door and heads to the road, looking back at that house one last time, she's determined, no matter what happens, she'll never be held back again.
Looking out at the eastern horizon, she sees the moon start to rise in the sky, an odd feeling washes over her as if she's not supposed to be here, seeing this. She pushes the feeling away and gets to the road, looking both ways, she picks a direction, and with a feeling of confidence she hasn't felt in a long time, she starts walking, and never looks back.
End.
YOU ARE READING
Windows To The Heart
Short StoryIn this visual novel inspired "Choose your own adventure" story, experience something that was mostly written in a few hazy hours, a story about love, death, family, and most importantly, choice. Told from the point of view of Lucas, a homesick rich...
