Perfect Strangers: What the future holds

Chapter 1

"How is she?" asked Molly nervously once Heather came back from talking to the doctors.

"They say she has to stay in intensive care for a while and that they don't know when she'll wake up. Could be tomorrow, could be a year from now. She was pretty beaten when she was brought here." replied Heather sitting in the hospital waiting room.

"Oh Heather," said Molly sadly. "How are you doing?" she asked softly.

"I'm okay. I'm just angry and sad things had to end this way, but this is reality, I can't run or hide from it and I won't," she said calmly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I've done a lot of thinking over the last few months, and I don't want to be the victim anymore. I want to live freely and happily." she declared. "Seeing mom lie there, I can't help but see myself. All this time I've allowed myself to be a victim and I won't anymore. Gone are the days when I chased after my father's approval and looked for it in a man like him. No one can love me or accept me better than myself. So that's what I'm going to do." she said making Molly smile proudly.

It had been four months since they graduated and while she pursued her career in childcare, Heather had begun a master's degree in law like her father wished. Everything was fine, they were keeping in touch with Eric and Mathew, they still shared a flat in London, and Heather had grown from who she used to be. It was just yesterday that they got the call from Molly's parents telling them that Heather's mother was in the hospital because of a bad argument with her father. At first, Molly had feared that this would break Heather down, but seeing her remain strong still, she couldn't be happier.

"I'm proud of you, and happy to hear you say these things. Looks like my fears were for nothing."

"Thank you, Molly. Sorry for always causing you and your family such worry."

"Don't worry about it. You and Mrs Nalu are like family to us, we will always be here for you both. Besides, you've helped me when I was in need."

"Yeah, but somehow I think you've done far more for me than I did for you."

"It doesn't matter. We're there for each other and that's all we need to know." she declared.

"You're right."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Well, there's not much I can do here, so I'll focus on what I can. For starters, I'm free to study what I want."

"True, so what do you want to study instead?"

"I don't want to study. I've studied all my life and I'm sick of it. I want to see the world, so I think I'm going to travel. I want to discover the world around me and myself."

"Well if that's what you want. Do it. I'm behind you all the way." encouraged Molly.

"Thank you," she said hugging Molly who returned the hug.

"Let's go home."

With a new vision, Heather stayed behind in Newcastle while Molly returned to London for work. She wanted time to just think before she did anything, and after a month of thinking, she dropped out her master's degree and started to travel.

She couldn't do much for her mother, but she could do much for herself.

"Are you sure?" she asked nervously as she packed her suitcase.

She had just finished travelling around the places she liked in the UK and decided to head to the USA, hence her current conversation with Eric.

"Yes, I'm sure. If you ever want to see LA, you can stay with me in Claremont. It's only 45 minutes away and you can meet April and Mike who also live here."