After The Storm (On Hold)

Chapter 1

It is a bright and stary spring night, the glow of the full moon illuminates the nearly deserted park. Only a few couples mingle around the park, trying to make the most of such a romantic setting after a tiring day of work.

Sweet words are being fed to starving ears, promises of eternal love are being made to lonely hearts and looks of longing are being shared between desperate souls.

I watch it all on the sidelines, wishing I could freeze time so that I can be stuck in this moment forever and not have to go back to the luxurious hell I live in.

Closing my eyes, I let the cool wind caress my face and I mentally prepare myself to start my short journey home. A wistful sigh escapes my lips as I rise from the bench I've been occupying and force my feet to move in the direction of the house I live in.

That place can't be considered a home.

I always come to this park. It's my safe haven and no one but my sister knows about it. I love this place beause it fills me with strength and hope and... peace. I feel a peacefulness and calmness when I'm here that only Lord knows how much I need.

Since I started my internship at my father's's law firm three weeks ago, I had no time to come here; that with him watching me like a hawk and all. But today, he's attending an important event and is going to be late so I took the chance to escape to my favorite place. And I lost track of time, staying until after the sun has set.

As I make my way through the now eerily quiet park, I pass a few couples engaged in intimate moments and passionate embraces. It causes a pang of envy that I can't help but feel. Being my dad's daughter can be quite lonely. I have no friends because the ones whom he approves of are so different from me and only care about teas and gossip clubs and suitable partners... it's exhausting. The ones I did enjoy hanging out with, he forced me to stop seeing. I only had one person to talk to, and it was my sister. But she left a couple years ago. As soon as she turned eighteen she took off and never looked back. She could not handle living in that house any longer and I can't blame her for it. I would have done same if I had the courage.

But I don't.

I can't leave my mom alone with my dad. Plus, I am not strong enough to stand up to him.

These people have someone to share their burdens with at least. I have no one but myself. What wouldn't I give to find someone who can love me and I him. A knight in shining armour to come and rescue me from the miserable glass castle I live in and show me how good life can be, like I see in the novels I read. A man who would stand up to my father and rip me away from his clutches, take me to a faraway land where we would live happily ever after.

One day, it will happen. All my dreams will come true, someday.

My sister used to say that these thoughts are going to cause me a lot of heartbreak because, knights and prince charmings simply don't exist. But I can't help them, I have always loved fairytales and romance novels, especially the ones with happy endings. It's why Romeo and Juliet is not on my all time favorites romance novels' list. The story is good but I have enough tragedy going on in my lfe already, I don't need to add fictional tragedy to it.

I am so lost in my fantasies, that I don't notice the man coming up behind me, when I am just a few meters away from the exit of the park, until he has his arms wrapped around me and his hand is covering my mouth, concealing any sound I might make. It all happens so fast that I barely have any time to react. One minute I was fantasising about prince charming and the next, I am terrified for my life as I am being dragged into the bushes by some stranger who is most definetely going to kill me. I struggle and try to scream but it is useless. His hold of me is just too strong.
He lowers me to the ground, his hand still covering my mouth, and comes on top of me. At that moment, when I realise what is really about to happen to me, his putrid scent of cheap alcohol and cigarrettes invade my nostrils. And it, along with the shock of my realisation, make me feel lightheaded. Perhaps noticing my weakness, he removes the hand covering my mouth so that it can, with the aid of his other hand, remove the obstacle that my clothes present to be. I take the opportunity to use all the strength I still have in me and scream "HELP", at the top of my lungs just as he ripped out the buttons of my silk blouse.