Elysian Island
Barely two weeks have passed since the economic downturn.
Work is hard to come by.
Even more so with the office constantly bombarded by criminals.
She takes solace in the few things she has control over.
A coworker brings a gift in the form of a mangled wreck.
The heart and soul of a champion lies enmeshed in twisted steel.
All of it crashes down...
On a still pre-dawn morning - the chill hanging to the ground.
She takes her bicycle to work.
Criminals spot her.
Alone and defenseless.
Pinned under the weight of two - pistols at her head.
No mercy to body or psyche.
It was hours before any of her coworkers spotted the sobbing heap at the front door.
The days since...
A gray fog looms within her mind.
Every trip to her work - her friends - ends up in fearful tears.
Her coworkers comfort as best as they can.
She wants to, but she can't go back.
Not yet, not now.
The hospitals are useless. No one responds to her calls for help. Yet, the phone buzzes.
The woman she met on her first dive into the blackness comes forth.
Her presence - a breakwater against the flood of thoughts.
A sign that she isn't defenseless. That she isn't alone.
She tells her story as best as she can.
For the first time in days, she sleeps.
Under the watchful eye of her guardian angel.
She has to leave the house.
She has to get stronger.
She has to reclaim her right to be who she is.