Digging deep into her memory, June pictured her first encounter with Paul. June crawled up into a corner of her bedroom, upon tucking her legs in, she dug her face in her hands and contemplated running away. After hearing a scream coming from the kitchen, June whispered" Dad is hitting Mom again." As the town beyond her home seemed blissfully unaware of the darkness within, June's father, a lord of a small but proud fiefdom, was a cruel man. Hardened by time, June's mother who was once a kind and loving soul was now a mere shadow. Broken under his rule. But that day, June had enough. She had cracked under the immense pressure of anger and sadness, it was the walls of her dark cottage that kept her in. The outside beckoned her to run, so she did. Grabbing her sling bag, she ran out of her house. And after taking in a deep breath, she felt relieved. It went from stressful gloomy and dark to bright lively and full of life. Merchants shouted over the din of crowds hawking their wares with practiced fervor. The fresh scent of the bakery, drifted from a bakery at the far end of the street, mingling with the sharper and more unpleasant smell of raw fishmonger's stall just across. Then it dawned on her. June had nowhere to stay, so she continued walking and looked around. And too engrossed in the atmosphere around her, June bumped into someone. Stunned, she took a step back. Looking up she saw a boy around the same age as her, around thirteen or so. He wore a dark green shirt with light blue stripes running across it. As June put her head down, she apologized. As the boy scanned her, he realized she had bruises all over her arms and legs. Then, the boy asked, "Are you okay?" Slowly lifting her head she replied, "No, I ran away from home because my father was abusing my mother and me." Then, the boy dragged her to an alleyway and asked"How long has this been going on for?" June replied, "Around one to two months." clenching his fists, the boy found out where June lived before telling her to stay put till he came back. As June nodded, the boy said "It's Paul by the way" "I'm June" As Paul nodded he walked away while clenching his fist. Walking to June's house, Paul was planning something so sinister and so brutal that June's father would death. And upon arriving at the front door, Paul smirked.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.