But there was nothing to warn me. No racing heartbeat, no goosebumps, no strange crows or ominous clouds in the sky. In fact, the day that I received the visitor was incredibly gorgeous.
So much so, Lizzie and I decided it was the perfect day to head to Center Park and go fishing.
Fishing was one of our favorite pastimes. The act of casting a line and waiting for something to bite was incredibly relaxing for us.
It was one of the things that bonded us. We would talk and laugh for hours.
Lizzie talked to me about her incredibly stressful day at the hospital, where she had one of the most impossible patients. And I talked to her about the fact that I’m in my mid-twenties and still don’t know exactly what I want to do with my life.
We stayed out there for hours that day.
Eventually, Lizzie had to get home to relieve her babysitter. So, I was left alone.
That didn’t deter me though. I stayed out there wondering how I could start getting paid as a professional fisherwoman.
Eventually, good luck rained on me and I caught a huge fish.
I wasn’t about to stop at just one though. I cast my line once again hoping for the best.
But this time I came up short. All I managed to catch was somebody’s broken discarded jewelry box.
Eventually, hunger took over and I put away my fishing pole and went in search of something to eat.
I loved Chinese food, so I was thrilled to see that the booth was open.
The attendant grabbed a serving. My mouth was watering just looking at the plate.
I paid for my order and sat down at one of the nearby tables with chopsticks in hand.
Unfortunately, chopsticks were the bane of my existence, but I was determined to learn to use them! My whole goal was to be able to impress Lizzie with my new skill. It didn’t take me long to realize that it wasn’t going to happen any time soon, though.
Half of my food ended up falling back on my plate and I resorted to using the chopstick as sort of a sword and stabbed at the food. When that didn’t work…I just held the plate up and raked food into my mouth; silently cursing myself for not grabbing a fork before the booth closed for the day.
I eventually managed to eat enough to satisfy my hunger.
After my very early dinner, I took a quick walk through the park. I knew it would be dark in only about an hour, so I wanted to enjoy the sunshine for as long as I could.
My last few moments in the park that day were spent lying on the ground, watching the clouds. I wasn’t nearly ready to go home, but Center Park wasn’t exactly the type of place you wanted to be caught alone after dark.
I reluctantly headed home and drew myself a warm bath.
That night, when it was dark outside and my vivid multicolored world turned dim, loneliness began to set in.
I imagined Lizzie and her happy family eating dinner next door and talking about their day.
I only allowed myself to participate in my little pity party for a little while. I stepped out of the bathtub and changed into my pajamas.
I walked into the kitchen and air-popped some popcorn; thinking to myself that lonely nights were the perfect nights for a good movie.
I watched the kernels pop…almost hypnotized as they completely changed form, with no memory of what they were before becoming my evening snack.
Had I known what would happen to me later…I probably would have chosen something else to watch, although deep down I knew that my choice of film had nothing to do with my ultimate fate.
It’s funny how when we are watching horror movies…we always know what we would do in the same situation. Never mind that half of us would freeze up…just like the person portrayed in the film.
Still, I was never above yelling at the TV as I watched. “Run! Don’t stop and look around! Get outtathere – damn…too late.”
The movie ended. I grabbed my bowl and walked over to the kitchen.
I washed my single dish which probably took all of 10 seconds…one of the perks of being single and living alone.
As I walked into my bedroom…a few scenes from the movies got a hold of my sometimes overly active imagination and had their way with it. I thought to myself, maybe I should have chosen a romance movie instead.
