instantly stunned, frozen in his confusion. It last only
a second, but sometimes one second is all that is needed to change
a lifetime.
Another shot is fired. This one pierces
through Hector’s neck. Ruth screams and without thinking rushes
outside to her husband’s side. In the confusion, an officer named
Corey discharges his gun in the direction he believed the shot to
have come from. Two bullets sink into Ruth’s chest, one exits her
torso, hitting the wall behind her. The force of the bullets sends
her crashing through the bakery’s shattering glass door. Will
watches from inside the bakery, horrified at what he
sees.
After a few seconds of shock, Heather attempts
to run out to her sister. Will catches her mid-sprint and holds her
tightly, afraid that she might be shot as well. She struggles,
crying hysterically as she tries to free herself from Will’s
grasp.
More gunshots ring through the air
outside.
“Let go,” Heather pleads with Will. “Please,
just let go.” Her words become broken, intermixed with sobs and
heaves, unaided by the shortness of breath from struggling against
Will’s strong embrace.
“I can’t. I can’t let you go. It’s not
safe.”
“I don’t care,” she manages to speak through
worsening cries. “She’s my sister.”
Just then, as he holds onto her, a strange
sensation befalls upon him. The fear of physical harm subsides and
for a brief moment he understands what the gypsy-looking girl had
attempted to explain to him earlier. He sees how his involvement
with Laura Cohen has led all parties to this catastrophic event.
Even though his comprehension is limited by perspective, and only
his own at that, he understands how easily paths can cross. The one
thing he, in the here and now, does not grasp is how he is at
fault, ironically through no fault of his own, for the tragedy that
has claimed two lives thus far.
Another series of gunshots reverberate through
the rain-scented atmosphere. Heather’s body becomes still, finally
accepting Will’s embrace. The thud of a heavy, large object booms
behinds them, competing with the gunshots outside. Will’s quick
peak over his shoulder reveals Milton, on the floor clutching the
left side of his chest with his right hand, lying next to a
tipped-over table and two chairs on their sides. On the big man’s
face is a look of physical agony. Will recognizes it instantly.
Milton is having a heart attack.
Will doesn’t know why, but he cannot bring himself to let go of
Heather. Another few seconds pass before faint images of the night
before begin to materialize in his mind. Up until now, Will could
not remember any detail concerning his life before he found himself
awake at the bathroom mirror.
*************
The night prior to Will waking up at his
mirror, he and Heather sat, side by side, on the Ping-Pong table at
Thompson Square Park. It was shortly after midnight and the park
was supposed to be closed, but this didn’t stop the two from hoping
over the fence and entering the park anyway.
They had just met a few hours ago, but the
connection they shared was instantaneous. It was there, in there
mock picnic on the Ping-Pong table with gummy bears and soda, that
an eternity had been born.
They talked for hours, each of them sharing
the most intimate details of their life. Heather revealed how much
she missed her sister. It took a little persistence, but Will
finally managed to get the entire story from her. She revealed how
she hasn’t spoken to her sister in over a year because of a fight
they had about Heather’s unfounded suspicions of her
brother-in-law’s infidelity. When she finished her accounts, she
lit a cigarette which Will gently snatched from her, tossing it on
the ground while reasoning that she was too pretty to be smoking.
Eventually, the conversation’s focus switched towards Will. He
expressed his concerns over having recently lost his job.
Immediately, she sought to remedy his situation. After informing
him that
a second, but sometimes one second is all that is needed to change
a lifetime.
Another shot is fired. This one pierces
through Hector’s neck. Ruth screams and without thinking rushes
outside to her husband’s side. In the confusion, an officer named
Corey discharges his gun in the direction he believed the shot to
have come from. Two bullets sink into Ruth’s chest, one exits her
torso, hitting the wall behind her. The force of the bullets sends
her crashing through the bakery’s shattering glass door. Will
watches from inside the bakery, horrified at what he
sees.
After a few seconds of shock, Heather attempts
to run out to her sister. Will catches her mid-sprint and holds her
tightly, afraid that she might be shot as well. She struggles,
crying hysterically as she tries to free herself from Will’s
grasp.
More gunshots ring through the air
outside.
“Let go,” Heather pleads with Will. “Please,
just let go.” Her words become broken, intermixed with sobs and
heaves, unaided by the shortness of breath from struggling against
Will’s strong embrace.
“I can’t. I can’t let you go. It’s not
safe.”
“I don’t care,” she manages to speak through
worsening cries. “She’s my sister.”
Just then, as he holds onto her, a strange
sensation befalls upon him. The fear of physical harm subsides and
for a brief moment he understands what the gypsy-looking girl had
attempted to explain to him earlier. He sees how his involvement
with Laura Cohen has led all parties to this catastrophic event.
Even though his comprehension is limited by perspective, and only
his own at that, he understands how easily paths can cross. The one
thing he, in the here and now, does not grasp is how he is at
fault, ironically through no fault of his own, for the tragedy that
has claimed two lives thus far.
Another series of gunshots reverberate through
the rain-scented atmosphere. Heather’s body becomes still, finally
accepting Will’s embrace. The thud of a heavy, large object booms
behinds them, competing with the gunshots outside. Will’s quick
peak over his shoulder reveals Milton, on the floor clutching the
left side of his chest with his right hand, lying next to a
tipped-over table and two chairs on their sides. On the big man’s
face is a look of physical agony. Will recognizes it instantly.
Milton is having a heart attack.
Will doesn’t know why, but he cannot bring himself to let go of
Heather. Another few seconds pass before faint images of the night
before begin to materialize in his mind. Up until now, Will could
not remember any detail concerning his life before he found himself
awake at the bathroom mirror.
*************
The night prior to Will waking up at his
mirror, he and Heather sat, side by side, on the Ping-Pong table at
Thompson Square Park. It was shortly after midnight and the park
was supposed to be closed, but this didn’t stop the two from hoping
over the fence and entering the park anyway.
They had just met a few hours ago, but the
connection they shared was instantaneous. It was there, in there
mock picnic on the Ping-Pong table with gummy bears and soda, that
an eternity had been born.
They talked for hours, each of them sharing
the most intimate details of their life. Heather revealed how much
she missed her sister. It took a little persistence, but Will
finally managed to get the entire story from her. She revealed how
she hasn’t spoken to her sister in over a year because of a fight
they had about Heather’s unfounded suspicions of her
brother-in-law’s infidelity. When she finished her accounts, she
lit a cigarette which Will gently snatched from her, tossing it on
the ground while reasoning that she was too pretty to be smoking.
Eventually, the conversation’s focus switched towards Will. He
expressed his concerns over having recently lost his job.
Immediately, she sought to remedy his situation. After informing
him that
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