Pieces of the Present - [Danona] Book Two ✓

18. storm of dust - part one

Life is fluid. What comes up must always come down. But if roles reversed, that logic would also mean that what comes down must always rise back up. Katie had no clue that when she had awoken that morning, she would go through the cycle of rising and falling over and over. 

She also woke up with absolutely no inclination to believe that she would remember the day. It wasn't a special day... until it became the most pivotal day of her entire life. There was no reason to believe it would be any different from the previous day or the one before that. No inkling of a hint from the universe. When her eyes had opened to the sun shining through the window, she had expected to repeat the cycle tomorrow and then again during the day after that. 

But by now, she ought to have learned that life didn't work that way, and it certainly didn't work that way for her. The entire universe's modus operandi was to throw her dramatic curveballs. Every important moment of her life had proven that. There was no such thing as a far-fetched surprise to her. 

She also should've known that the dust and ash hadn't settled at her feet for good. That it would stir again and rise, poisoning the air she breathed. The red burning embers would fly again, maybe metaphorically, maybe for real. She had convinced herself that with everything turning around into something wonderful, that the smoke would remain hidden and her world wouldn't crash and burn again. 

Because what goes up, must come down; in Katie's case, it was vice versa. The good times had risen, but as soon as they crashed back down to earth, the clouds of dust would rise again. They always did. They had from the very beginning. With the weight of the pregnancy test in her hand. The night she had told her parents. The threatened miscarriage. The abnormalities. Everything dramatic had swept up the soot and dust, how could she think it wouldn't happen this time?

Her day started off as borderline. No highs, no lows, just normal day that had started in a stationary position between good and bad. 

Thirty-four weeks and five days. Exactly thirty-three days left until her due date. Nesting had gone into full swing, making sure that every little detail of the nursery was ready and waiting. She dusted every surface, rearranged every book, hung every onesie. The excitement, it was settling in so perfectly.