Till Eternity and Beyond

Prologue

Fifteen Years Ago...

It was a beautiful summer afternoon, straight out of a fairytale novel. The pale blue skies that day were wonderfully adorned with fluffy white clouds like gold earrings on a little girl. All the trees looked succulent and healthy as they swayed drowsily under the spell of the warm summer breeze.

However, this beauty was a gift and a curse.

If the day hadn't been so pleasant and inviting, perhaps none of the crucial events that happened that afternoon would have occurred. Perhaps this story would never have ended the way it did.

Several young mothers, doting grandparents, children, and beloved pets visited the park that day. However, our story would be confined to one of the various beings who spent a significant portion of their afternoon in that park. Her life never remained the same after that day.

She was a single mother in her mid-twenties wearing a green button-down shirt with blue jeans. Her jeans had several ink stains, and her shirt had an ugly yellow patch at the hem where she had gotten drenched by orange juice.

She was sitting on a park bench a few inches away from a silver wishing well with her fingers tightly clamped around two knitting needles. Slowly, she weaved the pink wool into a toddler-sized sweater. 

From the corner of her eyes, she watched the little girl with an enormous afro playing nearby. The child was giggling happily as she fed breadcrumbs to chirping birds. It was difficult to say who was more excited about the whole thing—the birds or the little girl. 

"Don't wander off too far, Selene." The young woman warned.

"Yes, mommy!"

The young lady smiled and began humming a nursery rhyme. Slowly, her thoughts wandered to the other mundane activities and chores she needed to complete that day. She was so occupied with her thoughts and watching her child that she didn't realize she was being watched.

The eyes that watched the young mother with ferocious intensity belonged to a lady who was so petite she almost appeared childlike. However, the maturity in the woman's gaze showed she was only a few years younger than the young mother.

The petite lady clenched and unclenched her fist severally as she watched the young mother. Certain that she had finally located her target, the lady squared her small shoulders and marched to the park bench where the young mother was seated.

"Tabitha Feather. It's been a while." She said.

The young mother looked up. The moment she met the petite lady's large ruby eyes, her beautiful dark skin lost all its colour. She flinched and dropped her knitting pins violently.

"Emmeline." Tabitha gasped. 

She glanced over the lady's shoulder and slowly rose from her seat, desperately searching for an escape. 

"Don't you fucking dare. Not after everything you've done." Emmeline swore harshly.

Tabitha flinched again when she saw the vicious expression on Emmeline's face. She knew she had been caught. Even if she managed to escape, it would only be a matter of time before Emmeline would find her again.

Tabitha sank back into her seat and picked her knitting pins. Once Emmeline saw Tabitha had no intention to escape, she occupied the empty seat beside her. The tension between the two women could have been cut with a knife.

"How did you find me?" Tabitha asked when she was unable to stand the silence any longer. She received a death glare, which made her flinch again.

"Is that all you have to say to me? After all these years?"