BROKEN ....

Ann had seen a figure like her vanish into the darkness, but she told herself it was only a hallucination,  an imagination that had always been wild and vivid, but this was beyond belief. She tried to erase the image of her long blond hair and blue eyes, the way she smiled at Chris before she left, and focus on the sound of the waves and the stars in the sky, but something stopped her: a noise she couldn't ignore - a scream of agony and a moan that pierced through the wall as she approached Chris's room that night.

And though Ann wanted to pretend she didn't hear it, her heart wouldn't let her. Not only that, she cared for him too much, even though he barely noticed her.

She knocked on the door, hoping he would let her in." Chris? It's me, Ann. Are you okay?" she whispered as she cleared her throat but there came an answer not; only more crying. She turned the handle and found the door unlocked. She pushed it open and entered; the room was dark except for a faint light from his bedside lamp.

Likewise, she saw him lying on his bed, his face buried in his pillow, his body shaking with sobs. He looked so broken and lonely; she felt a surge of pity and affection for him and walked to his bed and sat down beside him, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He flinched from her touch and turned his head to look at her. His eyes were red and swollen, his cheeks wet with tears.

He seemed startled and ashamed to see her there." Ann? What are you doing here?" he rasped. "I heard you weeping. I was worried about you. What's wrong?" she asked gently, gazing into his eyes.

  Chris hesitated for a moment, then sighed and looked away from her. He pulled the blanket over his head, hiding his face from her. "Nothing. It's nothing. Just leave me alone," he mumbled.

But Ann leaned over and pulled the blanket down from him, exposing his face again. She looked at him with compassion and determination. "Chris, don't do this. Don't shut me out. I'm here to help you. Please, tell me what's bothering you," she said firmly yet kindly.

He looked at her again, then lowered his eyes. He bit his lip and swallowed hard, then whispered "She left me. "He broke down again, crying uncontrollably. Ann felt a pang of empathy and sadness for him and wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, trying to comfort him. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I'm so sorry," she said, stroking his hair and kissing his forehead.

He clung to her, burying his face in her neck as he felt her arms around him, her breath on his neck, her lips on his forehead. He felt a wave of warmth in his chest, a tingling in his skin, a fluttering in his stomach. Not only that, but he felt something else too: something he had forgotten since he left the city. He felt alive

'I spoke her name: 'Amelia'. He begun.

" AND for once, Her countenance changed instantly. She grabbed her bag and fled out of the door. I was left alone with guilt. I wanted to stop her, to explain. But perhaps I knew it was too late, she had uncovered my secret.

Now Chris stared at Ann with pleading eyes, hoping she would understand. But all Ann saw was the pain in his expression, the pain of losing someone he loved. And perhaps then she understood what haunted him every night.

Now dawn was breaking over the shore when Ann approached him on the beach where he was strumming his guitar unaware of her presence.

Maybe she had spoken unto him something that shattered his world for as he watched from his window when Kimmel and Ann disappeared down the long dusty country road, he felt like something was ruining his life. He wished she would come back and tell him it was all a joke, a mistake. But he knew she wouldn't.

The interminable night, in its solitary desolation, seemed to reject the very concept of cessation. Slumber, too, appeared to have forsaken him, leaving him in a state of wakeful dormancy. A tormenting agony was etched upon his soul, a cruel reminder of Ann's uttered words. Oh, how he wished she had remained silent! And perhaps, he too should have held his peace.

Many a day had passed into the ether when there arrived a night of such darkness and tempest, that all other sounds were drowned by the relentless ticking of the ancient grandfather clock. 

Garrisa, with countenance etched with worry, kept vigil over him. She pondered the unthinkable - would he ever emerge from this deathlike slumber, or was she doomed to make the most agonizing decision of her existence? 

But it was as if the storm outside mirrored her inner turmoil, growing fiercer with each passing moment. 

As she turned to depart, an unseen force seemed to tether her to the spot. A faint pressure on her hand made her heart flutter in hopeful anticipation. She cast her gaze upon his pallid face and heard him whisper, 'Mother…do not abandon me.' Overcome with relief and joy, she leaned closer, tears cascading down her cheeks. 'Oh, my child! You have returned to me!' she wept. 

He seemed to want to share tales of the strange visions that had haunted his unconscious mind, but his lips remained sealed. And so they remained, side by side, weathering the stormy night together."