I Will Always Love You

Prologue

© Copyright 2015

Prologue

The irritating sound of her phone awoke her; she stretched across the bed for her phone with one hand whilst rubbing her eye with the other to clear her vision. As per usual, she slid her finger over the phone to silence the disturbing sound of the alarm. It took great effort to leave her bed on this cold, winter morning. She drew the curtains and it seemed as though it were midnight but the garden was still glistening from the snow that had fallen last night. She stared reluctantly without blinking; she was taking in and admiring the beauty of the scenery before her eyes. She remained still.

Whilst driving carefully to her firm, she spotted her favourite café, a little store which sold the best drinks, in her opinion. She noticed that the hanger on the door read 'open' which was surprising considering how early it was. Unable to resist, she parked and made her way towards the door, careful of slipping in the mounts of snow huddled around her feet. She ordered the usual, peppermint mocha and decided to drink it in the café; she pulled her gloves off and wrapped her hand around the warm cup.

She invested in the refurbishing of the firm a couple of years ago - it was now modernised, painted completely white with glass doors and double glazed windows. It stood out amongst the buildings surrounding it and caught many eyes, one of the main purposes of the redecoration. A junior solicitor she is, and the owner of the firm. Walking inside, she is greeted by all employees - respect exists both ways between her and those working with her. The day was similar to every other day, meeting clients, preparing documents and arranging meetings, which she surprisingly very much enjoyed. It was her passion.

The sky is already beginning to darken, despite the fact that it is only five in the evening. Being the last one to leave as always, she turns of the lights, locks the door makes her way to her vehicle. Once again, small balls of snow are falling gracefully from the navy blue sky. She looks up and breathes in the cold, crisp air. 

The engine takes up time to start up because of the harsh weather; after twisting the keys again and again, hoping for it to work, she gives up and sits back, sighing of frustration. She picks up her phone to find some help and ends up calling an emergency mechanic engineering service. She sits inside whilst her car is being dealt with and rubbing her hands against one another to warm up. After almost half an hour, the car is ready and she drives off. She didn't mind the wait, there was nobody waiting, worrying about her at home.

Switching on the lights, the first thing she sees is the framed picture of her friends and her during secondary school, on mufti day. She takes of the layers she was wearing to keep her body warm against the extreme weather of London. First the coat, the scarf followed by the cardigan. She continues glaring at the picture, observing all of the faces, the smiles, the laughs and wonders why everything ever fell apart, why all of them now led such different and separate lives. She's distracted by the sound of her phones' notification, she retrieves it from her jean pocket and opens. She's motionless. Whilst continuing to stare at the screen and absorbing the information, a tear rolls down her face without warning, against her wish. There is an image captioned with 'Unconditional love' of the two most important people of her past life. Although it was ten years since it all happened, the memories, good and bad, still get to her. The thoughts and regrets bring an uneasy feeling and cause the anxiety that she has to reach its' peak. She shuts her eyes, smiles half-heartedly and surrenders to her emotions.