Prologue

“I do” He vowed to the woman he had fallen in love with in the last four years. In that moment he joined his life with the one who had just vowed her life to him as well. A man and woman had just made a life long promise that brought joy and happiness to their families as well as the both getting married. Weddings were a time for celebration and congratulations for all those involved in the momentous occasion. There was one person, who shed tears of loss and heart break on this day of love and commitment.

I stood in the very back of the chapel where the man I had loved since childhood was marrying someone else. My love had been a secret for years and it seemed it would be a secret that I would take to my grave. The invite had been a stab in the heart but watching the ceremony was a shotgun to the heart. There was no hope for me to be able to act happy for him when my heart was in shambles. This was my goodbye to the boy who had held my hand through my childhood and the man who held my heart until the end of time.

The waves crashed on the shore as the waters reflected the bright rays of the sun. Wave after wave came and went as time seemed to do in life. No one wave was the same and it carried with it sand as it left. Each moment in life was different and it took with it memories as it left turning the present into the past. One could never turn the hands of the clock back no matter how bad they wanted to. Every new wave brought a fresh layer of sand like every moment of life brought a fresh start.

The London skies rumbled as they announced their plans to let their cargo unload on the city. It was a new setting and so a new start in a moment that was new as well. There would be no more tears for the past or for a lost future that was never in the cards. A broken heart was not a dead heart therefore life was still possible. All one needed for life was a living heart and the will to live, so it was time to find that will and start living.

In the first year of my escape all I wanted to do was forget but that thought process never leads to the right places. The want of oblivion usually led to vices and bad crowds, but we never see it until its too late. My crowd consisted of alcoholic partiers and the occasional one-night stand. A whole year was spent in a bottle or in some one’s bed, so if someone asked I would not remember anything. But toward the end of that year I found myself again and began to pull out of that life style.

During one of my last nights in that atmosphere I met a man. His name was Daniel and when we locked eyes I could see the same broken-hearted look that I had. It was like the saying, two halves make a whole or at least that’s what I think now. We talked for what seemed like days but was only a couple of hours. There was no need for more, we had already ridden that wave of bad decisions all the way to its crashing landing on the shore. Only one thing remained and that was a new beginning that life was offering us.

I decided to move to a more rural area in England and told him goodbye in the end. Could one broken-heart repair another broken-heart? It didn’t matter in the end because I went out to the countryside to retire and live out the rest of my life in peace. Never did it cross my mind that he might follow me. He came to me months after I had already left my London life behind. Nothing was said or defined, only comfort was offered and accepted between the two of us.

For nearly a year it went on like this, with him going and coming seeking love and wanting to give it. In that moment I learned that love came in many forms, but it was always alive and beating in one’s chest. Like a delicate flower, love blossomed between us and grew into a splendid garden. A lovely and soft friendship started in our arms and we wanted it to last forever. We were married by the end of that very year.

He still lived in London but the beauty of it was that our love wasn’t oppressive or obsessive. We loved with a love that was easy and rich in understanding even if one of use still wanted the thrill of the city. There were regular visits in which we shared the world that we had started to create. I didn’t pressure his retirement of the gambling life for I knew he would have regrets if I did. I wanted someone who wanted to be with me not forced especially because our life was never promised.

Our first child was born a year and a half after we were married and we both fell in love again. The love he had for Timothy was enchanting and I knew he was going to make an amazing father by the way he already handled our son. When Timothy started walking Daniel decided to put an end to all his city life adventures. It was not easy since the crowd he was with was dangerous and he owed them money, so he had to find a way out. It took almost a year before he finally found someone who had a way to get him out of the ties with those people.

As the months went by and the progress was slow Daniel began to get impatient with finally being free. It only got worse when we found out I was pregnant again with Timothy only being a year and six months. Daniel decided to take matters into his own hands and left us with an I love you and promises of the future. He kissed me and said he would finish this once and for all one way or another. It was the last time I ever saw him.

I remember the moment my life changed clearly as the sun on the clam waves of the ocean. I was tending to my garden while Timmy played with the shovel and pale that I had bought him. The sun was shining and the light breeze that danced through the air made for a perfect day. As I started humming a tune I heard as a teen, I began to think of the future Daniel and I would be starting.

“Excuse me!” someone called out from the other side of the gate to the back yard. I stood and went to see who it was after checking on Timmy. I opened it and found a police officer standing there with a look of sadness. My heart lurched, and my hand rested protectively over my stomach.

“Yes, can I help you?” I asked with trepidation, something wasn’t right, and I could feel it.

“Are you miss Williams?” The elderly officer asked in a small voice full of remorse and pity which sent a fist into my heart.

“Yes… Why? What has happened?” I asked as my voice began to fail me.

“It’s your husband, ma’am, he was killed this morning in a shooting-” the officer couldn’t finish his sentence since he rushed to catch me as I fell to my knees.

Sobs racked my body as the reality sunk in at that moment. The birds no longer chirped, and the breeze no longer danced. My world was no longer rotating in the right direction and my heart was broken once again. There was a part of my that heard the officer trying to help me and offer words of comfort, but I was blind and deaf to the world. Someone was screaming in the distance and it made me want to join them. Then my throat closed up as I realized I was the one screaming their throat raw. This couldn’t be happening.

I wanted to see him one last time and my wish was granted in the fastest fashion possible. There was an episode of ranting and raving that happened in the police station when I demanded that the monster who killed my husband be caught. Everything seemed to be moving in fast forward for me as I had to plan my husband’s funeral. A widow with a son and a daughter on the way at the age of 28. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my life would end up here, next to my husband’s coffin.

“Watch over us and I will see you again some day my friend. I love you” I whispered my last goodbye as I put a rose on his coffin with our son in my arms. With that farewell and fresh tears in my eyes, I turned and left to begin my life without him. As I turned away I watched as a dove flew into the air as if signaling my Daniel’s departure from my life. He was gone for good now and he took a piece of my heart with him.

Reviews

[Casper Cross]

"Each moment in life was different and it took with it memories as it left turning the present into the past"
-- I loved this. I think I've found the theme of your story. Great wording.

One could never turn the hands of the clock back no matter how bad they wanted to.
--Change to "One could never turn back time..." That makes it less wordy

I remember the moment my life changed clearly as the sun on the clam waves of the ocean.
-- Recommendation... you shouldn't end the sentence with a prepositional phrase. Rewrite it like this:
I remember the moment my changed as clearly as the sun on calm ocean waves.

Overall it seems really well put together. It appears as though you have a multiple stories going on here in these first opening pages. If I read that right, then it's a bit of a risk and won't be easy to put off but continue writing it cause I think you can do it.