Forgive me Father, Let me Dance!

Chapter 1

“I’m heading out for a run mum!” I yelled and ran out the door adjusting my flip phone in the elastic of my favourite pink jogging bottoms. Did she yell back something about dinner soon?

Never mind, I thought as I turned on my I pod shuffle and listened as a familiar Shakira tune came on. Perfect, I thought smiling to myself doing a little booty jiggle while attempting to stretch at the same time.

I absolutely loved running. Not only did it help me relax but it just completely freed my mind. My fingers played with the silver “S” shaped pendant I had on around my neck. I turned the corner and started jogging a bit faster, picking up the pace.

I tied my dark hair back, in one of those messy California ponytails (that’s what I heard those American girls call them on the telly) and tried to stuff all the stray hairs in my hair elastic. Must get some more from Claire’s I thought, I’m running out of these because I keep snapping them!

Not only did I absolutely love going for a jog, I also absolutely loved running on the cobble stone streets of the suburb I lived in, in Manchester. Aaah, home.

I wanted to shove every last thing worrying me from out of my head. I had too much on my mind right now. I had just finished my A levels and done pretty good at them, but University applications were still nagging me. I hadn’t heard back from anywhere!

Even though my parents told me not to worry about it, I really did want to get into a good medical school. Doctors children make great doctors right?

My upcoming 17th birthday was on my mind too. Even though it was 5 months away, I woke up every morning looking in the mirror for a wrinkle or grey hair. For some reason I was actually looking forward to that part of growing older.

I had only run for a few minutes before I felt the drizzle on my face. I licked my lips when a cold rain drop fell on them and I tasted my delicious mango Body Shop lip balm.

Even though the drizzling got stronger I kept jogging at a steady pace. England weather is a bit blah to say in the least, but I was used to it. Something fascinated me about the moroseness surrounding the constant grey in the sky that could rain at any minute.

The weather kind of reflected my life. Yeah pretty much kind of.

Even though I had managed to run away, or be rescued even, from all the monsters that once were a part of my life, I still remembered where I had come from. I felt lucky but also felt pangs of guilt at times for those that I had left behind.

So you see if I’d lived in a place where the weather made me feel joyous all the time that would have been me faking it. Because even though I was happy and content and eternally grateful for my life now, I was kind of like the British weather inside. All gloomy, and it could rain all over me at any minute.

Argh get all these thoughts out of your head, I told myself. I pulled an earphone out of my ear with one hand and instinctively turned around to see if anyone was following me. It’s weird not having someone run after me anymore, I thought. It’s been years, but I still had to check constantly throughout my runs if I was being followed or chased. Sometimes my heart would skip a beat when a fellow jogger would run past me.

What am I thinking about? Why am I thinking about all this, I thought? Just stop it Ally. Stop it.

“You’re making yourself nervous” I whispered to myself as I heard my feet thump on the stones beneath me.

Temporarily blinded by a huge raindrop in my eye, I tried to jerk myself to a halt whilst rubbing my eye. I suddenly crashed into something and automatically let out a scream.

Darn it!! I had only closed my eyes for a flash of a second and this happened! It was almost as if I saw myself doing it in slow motion.

I bumped into something, or someone full on and spun a little trying to catch myself before flying a few feet before I eventually came crashing into a nearby bush.

For a second I just lay there feeling my palms sting where they’d broken my fall. I just lay there in the dark trying to understand what had just happened till I heard a gruff voice say something.

Slowly the shadow of a huge man came towards me and then on top of me and I screamed. His hands moved towards me, and I immediately thought he was going to strangle me.

I kept screaming and felt my heart panicking by the second.

Suddenly, I heard thunder and was blinded by a flash of lightning that followed which transported me to another place, and another time.