Chapter 0
Water. The sound is so nice. Droplets of water falling slowly. Very slowly. Too slowly? Maybe.. It is nice anyway.
It sounds familiar, as familiar as a fresh start.
"Hey, miss. Do you need an umbrella? I can share mine with you, if you’d like?"
"No, thank you, I can manage by myself" I decline politely, enjoying the rain as it hit me
Water. Still falling.
As I walked back home, I heard someone calling.
Not quite calling, rather, screaming, for help.
Not now. Please, not now.
Ahead of me a woman and a man, engaged in a heated argument.
Not now.
The man’s hand landed itself onto the woman’s check, a loud smack echoing alongside her cries as she screams out in pain, muffled by the rain, the weight of the hit sends her toppling down to the wet cemented ground.
I bit my lip, hesitating. I, I don't care. It's not my problem.
Not my problem, not now.
"Hey! What the hell are you looking at?" The man, who’s clearly older than the woman, averted his attention to me.
"I said, what are you looking at? You creep!" he repeats himself, voice low in warning.
Nothing, you are looking at nothing. It’s Not. Your. Problem.
"Nothing."
"Right answer. Now go!" he squinted his eyes at me to emphasis his warning tone, before yanking the woman back up.
Well, now's the point where someone comes in, breaks into this dump parking lot and heroically saves the woman from the abusive grip of that vicious man, right?
Wrong.
This is no comic book. This is real life.
Just go. Don't stay here. Go!
My feet were planted to the ground as I willed myself to move.
Yes, I should go. I should! And so I did.
