Unexpected Events

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We got in the car. We drove away from the hospital. We cried some more, laughed a bit, and mostly just had a great time. Jake had to leave with his own family, so he didn't take the ride back, but that was okay since he promised to text me later in the day as soon as possible. I could never say no to that.

Everything was going well. My life was finally back in order, and I was surrounded by the world I knew and loved, ready for the future. We drove through the mountains and some curvy roads before getting to the expressway, and already I could see the early signs of autumn as the leaves were turning beautiful hues of red, orange, and yellows. We hit that quiet patch in the minivan heading home, but that was okay. Christine looked over to me and smiled warmly.

"I'm so glad that you're alright, Angie."

She held out her hand, which I noticed was wearing two entwined strands of a light pink and light yellow as a bracelet. A smile overcame me too, as I realized that she was wearing a symbol of our early childhood. We both made one as children for a "sisters for life" symbol, and even though I hadn't even thought about it for quite some time, it was emotional to see her wear it for me today. I held her outreached hand.

"Me too, Christine. Me too."

We both shared a cute sister moment, and all was alright. A half hour passed and I remembered just how far away the hospital was. We lived an hour away, but it was almost lunch time.

"Are you hungry? Should we stop somewhere to eat?" Dad asked.

"I'm fine." Christine said, as she motioned me towards a stack of crackers that she must have ate in the car.

"Same here." I said, not really feeling the need to eat anything. My hunger was still a bit off, and to be honest, all I really wanted was to be back home.

"Alight then." He said.

Mom noticed that the gas was running low, so we pulled off the expressway and found a little corner gas station. I got out of the car to walk around a bit and get some fresh air, which felt wonderful. The life in the outdoors seemed so wonderful after a month of sterile captivity. I was finally free. It was a little town, only made up of two sides of the same street. There was a little sketchy gypsy ice cream place in the plaza on our side of the street.

"Hey, do you mind if we go get some?" Christine asked once she realized that ice cream was close by.

"Didn't you just say you're not hungry?" Dad asked.

"But it's ice cream!" She argued.

"Fine, go ahead. But be back in five minutes."

We thanked them and walked over to the shoppe. It was a small little store, and the door was locked.

"I guess they're closed." I said, starting to walk back to the car. She peaked inside and started to follow me. Then we heard a little bell ring and looked back to see the store open.

"We're just opening now! Are you stopping by for ice cream?" An elderly man and woman looked at us as if we were the only customers they saw in months. They were'nt expecting visitors today, and in this town, I couldn't blame them.

Christine and I walked into the little ice cream shoppe. There was two booths on the side and a hopscotch set up on the floor. 

"What flavor are you interested in?"

"Double scoop rocky road in a waffle cone for me!" Christine said, already knowing what she wanted.

It's been so long since I could choose normal food, but I still had to be careful with what was going to be ingested.

"A single scoop of black raspberry for me, please."

They made the ice creams and then handed them over. When I went to reach out for my mouthwatering ice cream, the woman noticed my bracelet.

"Oh, my gosh. What a lovely bracelet. Where did you get it?"

"I found it."

She looked as if she was about to cry. "By any chance, does it have an engraving on the inside?"

I wasn't sure what to say. I never looked on the inside, especially since it never could come off.

"Actually, it doesn't come off, so even if I could find out, I couldn't. I'm sorry."

She took my arm and found the little clasp. There was most certainly not a clasp before. To my surprise, it just came off my arm, no problem. I watched in disbelief. But...how?

"You have overcome a great struggle, but you're free now, aren't you?"

"I suppose." I said, kind of freaked out, yet intrigued.

"My son bought a bracelet just like this one for his wife to be twenty years ago, but then the morning of his wedding day, when he gave it to her, she couldn't get it off. He watched her be diagnosed with a terminal disease, and then watched her slowly pass away as the bracelet counted down to her fatal end. When she died, he was finally able to take it off, and threw it into the waves on a windy day, blaming the bracelet."

We stood in shock, ice cream starting to melt.

"But you're alright. Enjoy your day, ladies."

We walked out, thanking them for the ice cream, and me taking back the bracelet. Could it really be true? My head spin thinking about it, but I was okay, and in the end, it was all alright. We headed back for the car, and eventually set back on the road.

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