WALKING AWAY - MIHIKA

First there had only been darkness. Some sort of mid-point between life and death. No feeling, no thoughts. Maybe this was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Maybe this was what it was like to die. Just as he thought that, he could feel a feeble pain rise somewhere within him. Oh no... he thought. Let me go, please just let me go in peace, he begged. The pain grew- in retaliation. It was throbbing now. He still wasn’t sure exactly where it was coming from, but the intensity was increasing and now it was almost unbearable. It merged with the throbbing in his ears. Chaos rumbled, he couldn’t identify any of the sounds. Noise? Searing noise? Descriptions rose in his ridiculous brain. He just wanted to shut his ears and go back to his happy place.
She was walking down the road. Sure long and quick strides. Her boots clicked smartly with every step. Anyone who saw her couldn’t help but take a second look. Men and women, alike. They wouldn’t call her beautiful, but there was something about her. Attractive would be a better word. Tall, she looked straight ahead as she walked, not giving away the slightest expression on her face. It might as well have been chiselled out of ice, her eyes - the colour of frozen water. Her mind was still white hot with anger, fury and maybe just a hint of guilt.
This is exactly why she didn’t mix her professional life with her personal one. There were times, when things got messed up and then you had to choose. She had worked hard to get to where she was today; she was respected by men and women alike. She was extremely proud of her position. In her field of work, that was a great achievement.
What a bad idea this was. I shouldn’t have agreed to start with. God dammit! Him and his silly reasoning skills, he might as well have been on his knees begging. Definitely one of the weakest moments in my life.
She shuddered.
Never again! Never ever again.
With a shake of her head, she strode on.

Suddenly his mind was filled with images, mostly of her. Her lovely red hair, how smoothly his hands would weave through those lustrous tresses. Her light blue eyes, the colour of the bright blue sky on a white wintery day. The way she looked when he knew he had struck gold at work. She loved a job well done. All hell broke loose when he’d messed up... He loved her so much. If only he hadn’t made that one mistake. Nothing could calm her down when she turned cold and furious. He was only human. Right? She would forgive him, he was sure of that. Why couldn’t she see that they had had something precious? Why did she have to be like this?
The images were changing rapidly now. Her swanky house that doubled as her office headquarters, the different kinds of people he had to deal with day in, day out. The places he had visited in the past five years, the tiniest joys and the lowest sorrows.
Why now? Why suddenly? What’s happening to me?
For the first time since he’d been in this state, he opened his eyes. It seemed like he was in the middle of nowhere. There was complete darkness. As he tried to look around, he noticed the far off flickers of light. They weren’t very large from what he could see. All dots and flashes. He had no clue of what or where he was. He could have been at the bottom of a dumpster for all he knew, except for those lights. What for heaven’s sake were they?! They kept flashing in his eyes now, blinding him and increasing the pounding in his head.
As much as she tried, she couldn’t lock away that teeny bit of guilt that kept gnawing at her and into her box of unnecessary feelings. She kept thinking of whether she had done the right thing. At least she hadn’t killed him. If he died now, it wouldn’t be her fault. Hopefully he’d know what was good for him, come to his senses soon enough, run away from the train tracks and never contact her again! That is what she needed. All she wanted was to be able to concentrate on work without any sort of distractions. No matter how small.
If only he hadn’t messed up. She would not let it happen again. She swore under her breath. Thankfully her cover hadn’t been completely blown. She had an immaculate record. Her plan was almost fool proof, except for a single minor glitch. But now she had gotten rid of that too. The police would have found her if it had continued. She knew that much. It would have been way too easy for them. She had built her dark empire off the radar, and she had to keep it that way.
Sorry darling, I did love you. I just love me more.
This was the only way to go.
In the distance, the place from where she’d been hurriedly walking away, she heard a train blow it’s horn as it swooshed on moving further into the distance. Taking with it possibly her only way to failure. She felt a slight jab where her heart should be.
So this is what that sappy heartache feels like, she thought.
Not being the religious sort at all, for the first time she whispered something that sort of resembled a flicker of a prayer. She loved him, she couldn’t lie.

AVY COMMENTS:
Hmm, so we have some talent here. The story has great flow. Nice twist.
But it cannot be your sci-fi story, can it? Let the sci-fi story be your challenge to actually flesh out characters, plot, conflict, sub-plot, denouement. Let’s see where it goes.
Good luck.