When the Day Came

Now, those times are long gone.

She used to sit here and watch the river flowing by. She used to have so many endless days. She had a long summer that seemed as though it would never end. Even when September ended and the nights drew their blankets over the skies and the wind grew sharp teeth that nipped at her skin, even then her summer hung on.

There were rainy days, of course. This is England, there are always rainy days, but the sun soon came out in her long summer, and the rain washed her world for her; leaving it clean, leaving it fresh.

For a time, it seemed as though time had stopped. For a time, she began to think that maybe there would be a future. For a time, she forgot about the past.

Then the day came when her summer was suddenly over.

The day came when the past came back.

The day came when those who had spent the long summer searching for her found her.

The day came when there was the sudden crack of gunfire and a dying voice screaming her name: telling her to run, to leave her summer behind and never look back.