Paper Cuts

Chapter One: Forgone.

Swiftly but deliberately, she hurried towards the Casement to close it.
It was that time of the year to welcome autumn home and perhaps in their lives too.
Before her hand reached out for shutters, a gust of wind tickled her cheeks.
She closed her wrinkled eyes when that crispy gale howled and pierced through her skin, sowing a strain in her chest.
She never was this weak not at least when there was spring tide every where and every day was her day. Effervescent she was but hey! not forever, life remains a plain sailing.

-flashback starts-

" My feelings to him are like crumbled piece of paper, Helen. " She sobbed like a child "Useless and rough."

Her voice was tangled with woe and agony and her eyes were flamed up red. She itched for consolation.

"I am glad you grasped the fact, honey. You had to, sooner or later " Helen walked towards her, handing the coffee mug.

-flashback ends-

She closed her eyes to gulp the absolute pain inside. Her grip got tighter on her cardigan as she reclined on her rocking chair.
Someday as you realize; life is worth living and then the very next moment you are proved wrong; your expectations are ruined, you get hurt, you breakdown, but after going through an extra mile war with yourself you stand up and time flies once again. Years and years pass by. The wounds as well heal but what about the scars? Well, they remain there. Forever.
And when ever you are out, fraternizing your life , a part of the day always leads you to the portal of memories, but they are never alone. They come up with pain associated with them so then you close your eyes to shrug away the thoughts, to stop yourself to fell a prey to pain, once again.
It was like that for Julianna Haywards. Years have gone by, a span of time which couldn't be measured easily but still everyday, something reminds her of past.

-flashback starts-

"And we are getting married in autumn! " She jumped in excitement, her cheeks turned into a tint of pink.

" What? " Helen's eyes popped out of her sockets, she was just about to spit out the sip of water but somehow managed to gulp it up " but who does that, Julie? I mean getting married in Autumn seems so... bizarre "

" Priorities " she frowned " He has some sort of important plans after that, I guess"

" And you are not among that list? " Helen raised her brow

" At least, he is on mine " her teeth sparkled

-flashback ends-

Some decisions you take, makes you regret for life time.
And so Fall always reminded her of that decision. The one that turned her life upside down. It was a matter of nano seconds.

But even if she ever had a chance to see what was about to come in her life, would she have stepped back? Mayhap, sometimes you aren't force to take risk, it is your very own choice.

The telephone rang making her jump

" Morning, am I talking to Mrs. Adam? " the girl on the other side enquired

The name was dead to her since ages.

" Julianna. The name is Julianna Haywards. " She corrected

" Oh! Ms. Julianna, is Eleanor Haywards your daughter? "

" Yes, she is " Her heartbeat accelerated, her palms already getting sweaty.

"I am sorry to tell you, uh... Its... an emergency"

"What?" Stress was unclouded in her voice " Wait. What do you mean? What hap..." her words were cut off
She could feel the impending danger.

" 78 Loop-over lane. White building. Twenty minutes"

"I don't get it, is this some sort of a prank?"

The girl hung up.

" Wait! hello?" She continued " Can you hear me? "

Her world flipped over. Everything around her fogged up.
Her life was deeply rooted within her two daughters; Eleanor and Alice. Her Achilles heels.

And just like the tie-in of earth and moon is unconditional so was the love for her two daughters.

She raced out of the house, without watching her steps as she stumbled over the stairs, falling on her hands. She felt a wave of adrenaline rushing in her veins so she sat there for a moment, gasping for air. It was a nerve racking moment for her but without burning up another second, she stood up and drove off in her white Civic.

🌛

The door creaked open. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest louder than before. She slowly took a step and two, closing the door behind and staring blankly in the space.

"Hello? " she trembled with anxiety "Is anyone here? "
The room was poorly lit and was beyond the reach of sun rays. It looked more like a vacuum.
It wasn't a bad bargain to risk her live for her other halves.

She took two steps further and that was it. She felt a tap on her shoulder and that was when she froze and held her breath.