It was bright. So, so, bright.

The flames danced in her eyes, showing the grief held within them. Those eyes were glossy with tears, and red around the edges.

It had been an accident. If only she had gotten home sooner, she could have prevented it. But alas she could not go back in time. If she could, her daughter would be in her arms. Instead, she was still in the house. She was gone.

The house before her burned so bright, so brazen that it didn’t seem like night. It felt like just another day. But it wasn’t like any other day. It never would be.

Gwen then heard a scream. She didn’t realise that it was hers. The screaming would continue until her throat was hoarse, and her vocal cords rough. She would scream her pain away, but it would never be enough.

Her husband soon arrived at the scene as well. Without a word, he wrapped Gwen in his arms, and stayed with her until she left. He didn’t need to follow her- he was a reminder of the child they had together, and so left her to her peace. What he didn’t know was that Gwen would leave the country to get away. Away from him.

And so when he found out he looked for her. She was selfish- he was in grieving too, and yet he had gotten another person stripped away from him.

Grief turned into anger. And with anger, he hunted her down.

“It wasn’t an accident.”

“It wasn’t?”

“Of course not. How could it have been?”

Kate sighs. “I’m sorry-”

“You say one more word and I will slap you,” Gwen threatens. Kate instantly stops speaking and decides to instead take a big mouthful from her coffee. Gwen looks down at her own coffee. “Uh- sorry. I get a bit…uh…”

“Tense? Stressed? Anxious?” Kate offers. “It’s alright.”

“I’m glad you find that amusing,” Gwen says, as Kate chuckles quietly. The two then both reach a lull in the conversation, though it isn’t awkward- quite the contrary, in fact. They both take gulps from their respective coffees and turn to look at the scenery outside. It’s another rainy day in New York, with people bustling along the streets, all in a hurry to reach their destination. The hum of the city as it worked brought Gwen into a sense of security. Here, in New York, she could be whoever she wanted. There were no standards, no boundaries to confine her. It was just Gwen, and all that she can achieve.

And Gwen believed that she could achieve anything.

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Whereas Kate thinks that New York could stop raining. In her mind, the rain made things dreary, and quite depressing. And after what she’s gone through, Kate wants nothing to do with sad and dreary. She wants to be bright.

Good for her. The main focus is Gwen, however. And Gwen has no desire to be bright. She has no desire to shine light. She is, in her eyes, different. Changed by the trauma that she has endured and will always be affected by it. For Gwen has lost everything.

“The rain makes New York dull,” Kate comments. Gwen looks to her with a frown on her face.

“I personally think that it makes New York brighter. I mean, look at how the saturation makes the lights reflect on everything.”

And this is where Gwen and Kate come to a small disagreement. It’s not anything big, but it is what eventually leads to the end of their friendship.

“Whatever you say,” Kate, as Gwen can tell, obviously doesn’t see the beauty in rain. But that was okay.

The conversation once again reaches a silence, a pianissimo. But that quickly changes once Gwen glances out of the window again. As her eyes wander the limits of the window, a crescendo picks up without her even knowing it. An allegro, taunting her.

For when she sees her husband outside the window across the street, it reaches a fortissimo. And then it stops, as abruptly as it came. Gwen’s frozen in her chair as if were tied to it. Kate doesn’t notice, and continues to drink her coffee in silence, blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil raging in the woman sitting beside her. Well, that is until Gwen stands.

“I’ve got to go,” she says. Kate’s face draws into one of concern, but she doesn’t question Gwen. She only nods.

And as Gwen rushes out of the café, she realizes how much Kate doesn’t notice things. She realizes all the things that Kate doesn’t do. Sadness and grief clutch her heart- surely it wouldn’t take much for someone to notice, would it?

And someone does take notice. Gwen just doesn’t know it yet.

“What are you doing here?”

“Watching you, of course.”

“Let me ask again. What are you doing here?”

“And I’ll tell you again. I’m watching you.”

“Yes, but why?”

“Come with me.”

Her husband- oh, how Gwen hates that word- then takes her by the arm, leading her towards a red car.

“Hey. Hey! Let me go!” Gwen subtly struggles against his grip, not wanting to draw too much attention. Her husband however is much stronger than her and doesn’t even flinch.

Fuck it, Gwen then thinks. Let’s make a scene.

“LET ME GO!” She screams, kicking and making more of a struggle against him. “SOMEONE HELP ME! PLEASE!” All bystanders turn and look, a few pointing. Gwen sees a woman take out her phone in a panic. Yes.

“You bitch!” Her husband swears, finally getting her to the red car. He takes out his keys from his pocket, still holding Gwen in his other arm, and presses a button. The car beeps, and he opens the back door in haste, quickly throwing Gwen in and shutting the door before pressing another button. The car beeps again, and Gwen knows that she is locked in.

Her husband rushes to the other side of the car, opening the driver’s seat and sitting down before slamming the car door shut fast enough that Gwen couldn’t do anything. She suddenly feels regret for not going to the gym even when she had a membership. Gwen suddenly regrets a lot of things as the car leaves the park and speeds down the street.

From afar, Kate films the whole thing on her phone. She, like many others, are in shock at what just happened on the street, and the only appropriate thing to do was film the whole thing.

Gwen looked like she knew the guy, Kate thinks. That didn’t help, however. Kate barely knew Gwen. They were just co-workers, both working in a dermatologist clinic. How was Kate supposed to know who that man could’ve been?

It was then that Kate decided to get to know Gwen more. That is, if she saw Gwen ever again.