Chapter 18 - A Year Later
The anniversary of the blizzard arrived exactly one year after the night my life changed forever.
Sarah had offered to come over and stay with me, worried that the date would trigger bad memories.
"I'm okay, Sarah. Really," I assured her over the phone. "I just want to have a quiet night by the fire."
And I meant it.
I built a roaring fire in the fireplace, poured myself a glass of expensive red wine, and curled up on the couch with a good book.
Outside, a severe winter storm warning was in effect, the wind howling against the windows.
I thought about Robert, sitting in his drafty apartment over a garage, completely alone.
I thought about Julian, locked in a tiny concrete cell, listening to the same howling wind through barred windows.
They were both trapped in prisons of their own making.
I, on the other hand, was free.
I stretched my legs out toward the fire, wiggling my toes in my thick wool socks.
My hands throbbed slightly, a dull ache that I had learned to live with, a permanent badge of survival.
The scars were a reminder of how close I had come to dying, and how hard I had fought to live.
I took a sip of my wine, letting the rich flavor warm my chest.
I didn't feel anger anymore, and I didn't feel fear.
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I just felt a profound sense of gratitude for the second chance I had been given.
The blizzard had stripped away everything false in my life, leaving only the truth and the strength I had hidden within myself.
