Patina wallowed for hours. Her spirit was broken, the floodgates of her grief opened, drowning the last spec of optimism she had, and if she were honest, she was tired of fighting. "So much for my new life." She moaned scrapping the dirt with her fingers.
"Patina!" an elderly voice shouted. She ignored it not having enough strength to move her head. She felt a hand touching her shoulder so she looked towards the figure. Her head shot up seeing her Grandmother standing there in all her glory. Angelic, her grandmother adorned a white tunic with a pink cardigan, her hair was in curls, and resembled the snapshots of her youth. She felt stunned. "Hello dear, I know you've been struggling. Myself, and your grandfather have been watching, but I can promise you that things will get better but you need to keep going." she started crying again as she held onto her grandmother's hands as she regained the use of her legs. Her grandmother freed one of her hands to stroke Patina's cheek.
She hugged her grandmother holding onto her for dear life. Part of feared that she had truly gone insane, and that her grandmother was merely a manifestation of her lunacy. However, this theory fell flat when her grandmother placed a golden locket into her hand. She looked at it stroking the edges. Emotion ebbed its way into her eyes as the pain, and despair was replaced by love, tranquillity with a sense of hope. It was the locket she had been found with when her grandparents had first taken her in. "I love you my darling, never forget." her grandmother spoke before fading back into the surroundings. Patina waved at her before putting the locket around her neck. Her strength was renewed now. She was determined to make Eric pay, not just for her sake but on behalf of every woman he's hurt or crossed before her.
Patina trekked up from the campsite. If her memory served her right then there should be a road nearby. She licked her lips as she found a short wooden fence. She climbed over it trying to avoid the wire poking out of it. The road was vast with a few pine cones, and plant debris littering it. She walked a couple of more miles before she found a car, and proceeded to hotwire it. "Desperate times and all." she thought as she kick-started the engine. She stepped on the pedal roaring out of there with only one objective in mind.
Patina drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, the eeriness, and silence in the air was akin to the encounters from folklore with legends of beasts that roamed these lands. Her gut screamed at her to leave but she was steadfast. Eric had stolen a piece of her soul, and for that he was going to pay.Eric sat by the fire chewing a tough piece of deer he had culled, skinned and cooked earlier on. Sauce smeared across his mouth; he cracked his back sighing as the tension was released from his bones. He stripped the bone and tossed it, he wiped his mouth with a rag and stared intently at the flames of the fire. His lips curled up at the image of Patina crying over her precious paintings, and how easy it had been for him to steal her trust. A noise made his ears twitch, he had travelled, and c
Life has a weird of working out as Patina discovered, especially, now that Eric is prosecuted, and has to serve a fair stint in jail. She applied a stroke of emerald blue before marvelling at the deer frolicking in the grass. A yearling started licking the edge of her canvas so Patina gently nudged it back with the palm of her hand. From her vest pocket she gave the yearling silage to chew on instead. Patina gathered her brushes packing them away one by one to be cleaned once she has finished up the final touches to her landscape. The clouds rolled in casting shadows across the valley, Patina dabbed out the air bubbles on the painting smoothing them over. She held a bottle of setting spray, giving the canvas a once over, before removing it from the easel. She put the landscape inside before clearing away the rest of her art supplies. The deer were retreating to the woods with a few stragglers still playing around in the grass.
Chapter 1 – Morning Tea, A Newspaper, And A BothyA batch of burnt toast, the kettle whistled in protest, and the TV remote had been eaten by the couch for the fifth time.Rose Marley shuffled her arthritic hips across the blue vinyl, removing the kettle from the heat ending its tantrum. She made herself a cup of tea, discarded the cremated toast, and took her newspaper with her into the living room. She placed her tea, and newspaper upon the table turning off the TV. The set is over ten years old but Rose preferred her books anyway so the television along with the VHS would be outside by tonight. She put on a pair of
Rose strolled into the bustling building site with a white hardhat, and a cheerful smile draped across her ruby lips. A man was giving orders in the distance. His name is Daniel Blasio, but he preferred to be called Mr Blasio. He works as a builder, and site manager and has over twenty years of experience. Rose had clicked with him from the moment they had spoken over the phone. She just knew that he was perfect for the project. Over the last couple of weeks, he had done a superb job, and they were making swift progress. She surveyed the Bothy; it looked secured although it needed a definite facelift but it was a start.A shadow projected from the side of the building. Rose squinted her eyes struggling to see it before the shadow was gone. "Must be Tom." she whispered staring at the spot the shadow had occupied. Rose broke her ga
Rose pulled up to the building site, so far, the roof had been replaced, and a new one was being fitted today. The weather had held out with sunshine, and a few drizzles from time to time. The builders diligently worked away. Seeing everyone so impassioned made Rose ecstatic, especially, after dealing with the setbacks they had encountered to get to this point. The windows were now fixed, each wall now reinforced. Rose checked her list. There's still the roof, the doors, interiors, and chimney to fix. They had six more weeks to complete the project before she ran out of money. However, there was no use in worrying about something she had no control over.Mr Blasio greeted Rose from behind making her jump "Hello Mrs Marley, I'm sorry if I frightened you."Rose smiled, "It's fine Mr Blasio. So how much progress are we making?" she enquire
Rose gently lowered herself onto a deckchair. According, to Alexander there was a shower of stars forecasted for tonight. Rose's father had worked as an astronomer back in the days before man had landed on the moon. She believes this is where her fascination in regards to the planets, and the universe stemmed from. Sometimes, when the pain from her hips overwhelmed her, she imagined her husband looking down at her from the universe. His presence had always eased her worries, and made her feel optimistic. Rose stroked her wedding ring; she never went a day without wearing it. She missed her husband terribly at times but his memory would forever exist within the banks of her memory. She leaned forward to get up since the clouds were rolling in and the air became icer. Her bones creaked, after a bit of groaning, and willpower she extracted herself from the chair. Rose went back inside turning off the porch light.
Once the perils of the storm had finished inflicting destruction upon the land, Rose along with Tom decided to drive down to see what state the Bothy was in, or if it still remained at all.They drove up to the site, puddles created holes in the fields. Rose and Tom stepped out of the car being careful not to stand in any patches of dirtied water.Once, they approached where the Bothy stood Rose and Tom halted in their tracks at what they saw. There, in all of its restored beauty stood the Bothy; completely untouched. Rose's heart soared, the fact that the project was completed, and had survived the storm combined with the obstacles was momentous. On top of that, she had managed to stay under budget. She let out a breath, her heart stammered seeing the area in its glory. Her lips curled up into a grin. She laughed as her dentures popped
Chapter 1 – Clarissa EscapesThe screen door was tattered to pieces, splotches of blood mixed with soil sprinkled across the uprooted daises that remained lifeless on the floor.Clarissa Gould limped away from the house dragging her suitcase barely zipped up with clothes bulging out of its sides. Her leg was burning, glass shards riddled her calf but she kept moving forward. She lived on the outskirts of the city, there was a service station at the border between her town, and the city and that's where she was heading. A car pulled up just a few feet from where she was walking, she felt her hand clench the handle of the suitcase as she quickened her pace, a trail of blood following behind her. Fear surged through her veins, it couldn't be her ex-boyfriend, he was near death when she fled. "It's probably just someone looking for di
Gabriel walked stoicly by his informants side. He walked through every possible way that he could permanetly get rid of Audreys former husband. His heart still felt foul at the fact that his daughter had been taken from him. There was no justification for that but there would be complete justification for his own actions. His footsteps crunch against the frosty dirt as he continued walking. His mind was torn between his current situation and hs worry for Audrey. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. The cool air nipping at his exposed skin. The harshness of the winter seemedv to grow with malice the deeper into the forest they walked. His informant was walking in silence, only taking glances at his partner. The situation was unusual. He was normally called out for information not to do the actual job but since himself and gabriel were on such good terms he decided to agree to accompany him. So, here they were, walking through the woods, down a
Gabriel double-checked everything in the cabin. Each window, lock, and door. He wanted to ensure that the little wooden cabin was secure, he didn't want to chance anything. His daughter meant everythin to him. She was the key to healing their family. He'd just wished that son had been there as well, but it seems that his demise was genuine. However, as sad as their loss had been, they still had Angel, and in that respect, they still had hope. He drifted from his thoughts as he finished up changing Angels diaper. Yesterday, his associate had kindly went out and bought a boatload of baby supplies.The baby had perked up, and Gabriel had used yesterday to put his plan together. He'd contacted a couple of his friends stroke associates to accompany him. He saw set to leave today, he had a gun hidden in his office and gave his asscoiate instructions as to how to get it and what to do, just in case. This knowledge gave him a bit of relief. It was un
Gabriel rushed back to the car with his asscoiate trailing behind him. His heart was overflowing with love and care for his daughter as she snuggled closer to his chest. He used his foot to open the side door. He wanted to get out the cold as soon as possibe.He slid into the seat and ushered the baby into the arm so that he close the door with his free hand. His associate rushed into the car and started up the engine.He cradled his daughter who was falling asleep. Whilst she napped he formed a plan within his mind as to how he would attack the creeps that did this to his family. His mind was racing but the feeling of despair was melting into a puddle of sunshine. He felt beyond grateful that she was okay.As they continued travelling he decided to call his daughter Angel, since she was so beautiful and had survived such a rocky beginning in life. A smiled curled against his lips, he'd never seen a smile as precious or little fingers as small an
The journey he had undertaken to reach the secluded cabin he owned on the other side of Scotland had been absolutely brutal. He was in the heart of the highlands where the snow had already started to fall. His eyes ached from the brightess of the snowflakes that formed into one oversized series of blankets covering the landscape. He stood on his porch watching the snowfall, the cool air blew over the exposed skin of his hands and face. He didn't flinch, his body had grown numb to feeling. The grief didn't leave him, he knew that until he had concrete answers about his daughter then these feelings would continue to fest within the chasm of his soul. He sighed, he turned around and headed back inside. He leaned against the closed oak door. As soon as he had arrived he had contacted a couple of connections in order to get information on the doctor from the hospital. He was waiting for a phone call. He did his best not to obsess over the possibilities. He walked through his living room.
A couple of weeks had rushed by since Audrey had lost the twins. She had regressed into her shell, a smile hadn't touched her lips since that day. A ghost of smile had only touched Gabriels lips when he looked at pictures of his wife or sonograms of the twins. The constant calls and letters had decreased in frequency but still occured. He had filled out police reports but there wasn't much they could do until the people invovled actually hurt himself or his wife. He found himself going crazy with th nightmares he was having and the constant feeling that something wasn't right. His relationship with Audrey hadn't been fairing well either. After, a particular brutal argument, he had regrettably stated that he wished he had never done any of this in the first place which cut her like a hot knife into playdough. She hadn't spoken to him much since that argument. He had apologize profusely and repeatedly but her eyes had become hollow over the following days. He hated seein
The fiasco would prove to be the first in a long line of annoyances this man had planned for Gabriel. Upon, arriving back in Scotland he recieved harassing phone calls, letters, along with people showing up to threaten and intimidate him. On top of that, the detective kept contacting him, asking him to confirm people, and places he had been. The stress was getting to him but he did his best to support Audrey who was heavily pregnant and seemed to be acting off recently. She started sleeping longer, and wasn't eating as much as she normally would. He would ask her if she was okay but she always assured him that it was just pregnancy stuff and that it was nothing to worry over. He wanted to believe her but he couldn't shake the feeling of sadness that had began to wash over him whenever he looked at the sonogram pictures of his children. The day he'd come back from Scotland she had practically shoved the sonogram pictures into his face. He was delighted at the news, not
Gabriel found his feet digging into the threads of the carpet as he stood before Audreys former husband. He shot him an icy glare, his fists twiching at his sides. He couldn't believe the audacity of this man. Reopening Audreys case was one thing but to show up here and act like a thug was another thing entirely. He didn't know what to say to this creaton who had made his precious wife so miserable, to the point where she couldn't stand life. He wanted to punch away the smirk that was currently esiding on the mans face but its obivious thats what he wanted. Instead, he decided to approach the matter directly."Why did you come here?" he said coolly, trying to control the rage in his tone.The man chuckled before shrugging his shoulders,"No reason, I jut wanted to see the face of the lowlife who stole my wife." he spat folding his arms."Your wife? don't you mean your domestic servant since she did everything for you and ne
The vibe in the building caught Gabriels attention from the moment he had walked through the front door. A heavy tension covered the air making it difficult to concentrate on the answers he was rehearsing in his head. He made deliberate and cautious steps through the empty carpeted hallway. The lights were dim as well as flickering and he could already tell that this place was old and needed a serious paint job as he noticed the chipped white walls with picture frames hanging up. He looked around, before noticing a dark coffee stain drying up on a nearby plastic chair that was placed against the wall. He went to the closed office door and knocked a couple of times. He stood for a minute, before the door opened. A younger flustered woman squeezed by him as he entered the room.A man who appeared to be in his late forties sat at a wooden desk sifting through a pile of different folders. He seemed completely absorbed by what he was doing to the point that he
The mountainous terrain of Ontario sent a pang of nostalgia into his heart as he made his way from the area he was staying at, into the city. Once he had checked into the hotel the night before, he had managed to get his contacts together and build a bulletproof picture of his life during the time he was around Audrey. His stride was confident as he walked along the road. He decided not to take a car because he wanted to enjoy the scenery of his old stomping grounds. The cool crisp Canadian air sent shivers across his back as he exhaled happily. The mist from the mountain tops was moving across the black spruce tree's and covering the road ahead of him in a blanket of white cotton. Twigs crunched beneathe his boots as he continued on. His mind conjured up a couple of possibilities. One of them being, what if he had met Audrey, before her former husband had. Would they have been happy? would they have had an army of children by now? he wasn't entirely sure of the answers to these que