So Far:
She had expected to see pity for her, instead, she saw genuine concern, worry and almost hurt for some reason she could not fathom. His face looked like he was hurt, just having seen her cry. Chalking it up to a mind that was not thinking, she smiled thanks and turned to stare out the window.
Chapter 7:
Her eyes fixed on a distant lamppost, her mind years away, she did not notice that Jacob had decided to take her somewhere until, all of a sudden, the car started moving. When she looked back at him, all he said was, ‘Put on your seatbelt!’.
And for some reason, that was all Anna did. Despite it having been years since she had seen Jacob, despite not even knowing what he did for a living now, Anna trusted him. Maybe in light of recent events, all she craved was a familiar face. Whatever the reason was, Anna felt like she could trust Jacob. And wherever it was he was taking her, she knew he was trying to help her and make her feel better. Some part of her did not believe that this was even possible. But a bigger part of her wanted to believe that it was.
Unbeknownst to her, Anna dozed off to a light sleep in the passenger seat of Jacob’s car. She didn’t even realize the time passing by until about 2 hours later, Jacob stopped the car. The sudden change from the lullaby of the moving car to the silent stillness woke her.
All she could see around her outside the car was darkness. Here and there in a distance, she could see specs of lights. From what was probably a string of lights at the distance, it seemed like she was up a hill or something. When she turned to ask Jacob where they were, he wasn’t in the drives seat. Instead, she heard her passenger seat door click open and Jacob offer her a hand to get out.
Curiosity got the best of her and she took his hand and stepped out. He held on to her hand and walked outside, noticing the tranquility of her surroundings. Jacob led her down a path to her left and she followed him, barely noticing that he was still holding on to her hands. Despite barely being able to see anything clearly around her, she loved the ambiance of the place. There almost seemed to be life all around her. It was almost like the place was filled with magic. There was a static in the air she thought she discerned, there was the chirping of the birds in the distance. And most of all, there was the knowledge that she was safe while her hands were still in Jacobs. And at the moment, that was all it took for her to forget the shamble of a life she had just driven away from.
Anna finally stopped walking when Jacob did in front of her. She peeped in front, still staying behind him, and what she saw, took her breath away.
To be continued…
A Different Take 
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