Dear Adrian

“I must do this “, said Adrian holding a black glock in his right hand. Tears rolled down from his brown eyes as he uttered these words. All these years of love had led to this point of no return.

" You’re a monster! I must end this” said Adrian, gripping the glock even harder than before. Marilyn sat terrified as she felt the gloom of death. Her broken ankle rendering her immobile.

The dead silence of the morning at 5:00 a.m. and the cold air of February felt so sinister now.

Bad bruises, a broken ankle, tears dribbling from her beautiful blue eyes, shattered hopes of living a happily married life and the fear of impending death were all the possessions that Marilyn had at that moment.

Suddenly she was fuelled with a rage and courage she had never felt before. ” I must live ” were the three words that revolved in her brain.

Her peripheral vision caught the sight of a blue metal vase sitting on the table. She said to herself “this is my only chance, it’s now or never”. With all the power she had in her injured body, she stood up, growled in pain as her broken ankle twisted, and kicked him.

For a moment, he lost hold of his weapon. Marilyn grabbed the vase with all might she had and smashed it on Adrian’s head with a loud bang.

He fell to the floor, holding his head in anguish. The attack rendered him groggy for a while. This was her chance.

She landed another hit on him.

Suddenly there was the sound of a truck being driven past down the road. She grabbed her cloak lying on the bed and then spotted the truck from the window. She knew there wasn’t any other choice. She had to do it.

She gathered all her strength and ran towards the window smashing the glass into a million pieces. She fell on the pile of soiled mattresses which was lying on the truck trailer. The driver didn’t notice it.

She breathed a sigh of relief and for a moment felt lucky to be alive. But her pain was now worse. Her ankle felt like every bone in it was shattered. “Ahh!“, she growled in pain.

But there wasn’t anyone to help. She knew it. Marilyn lied down on one of the mattresses. She felt a bit groggy and was taken over by exhaustion. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The truck drove through the morning as the sun was rising. People slowly started to appear on the streets and vehicles began hustling on the beautiful roads of Houston. The sunlight shone upon the windows of huge skyscrapers lighting up the whole cityscape. It had been a place full of kind and energetic people from the past and now these sky- high buildings, the beautiful roads and shops looked like some kind of reflection of the people’s hard work.

The Texas commerce tower, Wells Fargo plaza and the astrodome were some of the magnificent builds performed by the enthusiastic Texans.

The truck drove for about an hour before reaching its destination, a dump yard. Marilyn was woken up by the sudden jolt of trailer as brakes were applied. The driver stepped out. She was still feeling the stabbing pain in her foot but she had no choice. Marilyn knew she couldn’t risk being spotted by anyone in Houston. She crept out of the trailer as stealthily as possible when the driver started talking to someone on his phone. As she started to walk away, the driver turned suddenly. Marilyn’s eyes met his eyes. The horrified look on his face was similar to a deer who has spotted a lion face to face.

“Noooo, please don’t hurt me!“, he screamed. And ran away dropping his phone.

Marilyn quickly picked up the phone and hastened towards the dump yard gate. ” Cops would be arriving any minute now, I have to escape” she thought.

She ran as fast as she was able to with her bare, injured feet. As she got out of the dump yard, she covered herself with her cloak.

Injured, restless, thirsty and hungry, she now walked on the streets. She saw two police officers coming in her way. To avoid being spotted, she hid in a dark alley near a dustbin.

She remembered the phone she grabbed earlier, took it out and called the only number she could trust at that moment.

The bell rang for about a minute before someone picked up the phone.

" Hello, this is Nina Adams, who’s this?” spoke the voice on the other end.

" Mrs Adams I’m Marilyn. I’m an acquaintance of Mr Bryan” said Marilyn

" Oh, it’s you freakin’ scoundrel!“, said Mrs. Adams “and how the HELL are you calling me right now. You should be in your freakin’ cell!”

" I’m really sorry Mrs. Adams but now is not the time. I really need your help” said Marilyn.

“Help? After completely destroying my life!“, Mrs Adams said sobbing, her voice almost coming to the point of being choked “, you ask for help?”

After a brief pause, Mrs. Adams asked ” Where the hell are you right now?”

" Amber drive, 4th lane “, replied Marilyn.

" Stay right there you piece of shit!” said Mrs. Adams.

The phone call was disconnected. Marilyn waited. She could now hear sirens ringing nearby. Just to be sure that she wasn’t spotted, she jumped into a large dustbin and waited.

After what felt like hours, she heard the sound of a car horn coming closer.

Someone stepped out of the car and began proceeding towards the dark alley Marilyn was hiding in. The lid of the dustbin was forced open. Marilyn’s cover was blown by a lady who seemed to be about 30 years old. She was wearing a long navy-blue coat, dark red leggings and brown leather boots. She had long dark brown hair and a very fair complexion. ” Marilyn Martinez?” she asked.

“Yes “, Marilyn replied.

“Step out and follow me”, said that lady.

“Mrs. Adams?“, asked Marilyn.

“Don’t ask questions”, the lady replied angrily but in a rather low voice so that she couldn’t be heard by anyone around, “and get in the car”.

Both women sat in the car. The car started. There was an awkward silence. None of them looked at or talked to each other. Mrs Adams switched on the radio.

" Good mooorning Houston!” said the voice from the radio. “This is you host and your best friend Katie. Let’s start off the day with some blaziiiing headlines!

The new Madison museum was inaugurated today by the Mayor himself! Many famous personalities like Beyoncé and Miss Shelley Duvall attended the inauguration.

The downtown aquarium welcomes its new member, a large splendid hammerhead shark!

A new Italian trattoria has been opened in Abergreen trail. Yum! I’m excited to go there, aren’t you guys?

A girl named Marilyn Martinez convicted for murdering 4 people, who escaped from Huntsville prison on Tuesday has been spotted in Houston today’s morning. Authorities have advised people to inform the police immediately if they happen to see her anywhere.

Well, that’s it for today’s headlines. Let’s head to Mike for some great Hollywood music!"

The radio was switched off abruptly by Mrs Adams.

“You’re all over the news! Do you even have a penny of an idea how much risk I’m taking by helping you?“, Mrs Adams smashed her hand on the dashboard as she said this,” why the hell am I helping a murderer”.

The car pulled over near an apartment.

“Step out”

“All right”, said Marilyn stepping out of the car, covering her face with the cloak.

They entered into the lift which luckily was empty. Mrs Adams pressed the number 10. They both got out a minute later and hastened toward Nina’s house.

" Go get a bath and get these rags changed”, said Mrs Adam sternly,” nobody wants to see you like this”.

Marilyn did what she said. As she got out, she was given some toasts and orange juice by Mrs Adams.” Have it”, she said and sat on the couch opposite to her.

" There’s a train which travels from Houston to Mexico City”, Mrs Adams started explaining as Marilyn was munching on the toasts,” It only transports cargos containing vehicles. They are rarely checked. It starts its journey from Houston at about 5:00 P.M at takes 14 hours or so to get to Mexico. Once you cross the US-Mexico border, you’ll be safe. You’re on your own after that. Now go get some rest”.