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When Marlene was 5, her mother told her that there were moments in her life where her choices would shape the way her life would go. Marlene never really gave much thought to that, mostly because she was 5 and did not understand it, but also because she never thought her life would come down to one choice.
She didn't know how wrong she was.
There were several choices that constructed the path of Marlene Walsh's life, but she believes the one that led her to the path she was on today was meeting Elijah Hewson.
It was a sunny day-hot but just breezy enough to feel refreshing. She was wearing a puffy yellow sundress along with her new white sandals.
She was walking down the park with her mom, holding onto her hand tightly because she was 7 and kept wobbling in her sandals, and she didn't want to fall. They had made it in front of an ice cream truck, and Marlene was so excited to get her vanilla and chocolate swirl soft serve.
"Be careful, Marls." Her mom had warned her, and Marlene nodded as she grabbed the ice cream cone with her small hands.
Everything was perfect, until it wasn't.
A kid was speeding through the park, apparently running away from another one, and had collided with Marlene and her ice cream.
Her perfect ice cream was now on the floor, and she was probably the most furious 7-year-old girl Elijah had ever seen.
"I am so sorry! I wasn't looking, and Mum always tells me to look, but I wasn't!" The flustered 8-year-old had said
"Um, It's okay. Uh-" The little girl with blotched cheeks and a wobbly lip had said
"I can pay for it! Look, I have... "He stuck his hand down his pocket and pulled out some money he had been given by his father earlier that day.
"5 quid! I'm sure that's enough for your ice cream."
"It's okay; my mom says I'm not really supposed to take money from strangers." She said, averting her eyes, and Elijah had deflated.
"But I'm not a stranger! My name is Eli." He held out his tiny hand to shake, and Marlene blushed. She didn't really speak to boys her age since she was very shy.
