Sherry didn't know what she would do without her big brother. He had been her rock all these years. She had known he was depressed, but she had no idea how much until...
She had discovered his note on the kitchen table that morning. Sherry's futon couch had been neatly folded back into it's proper place, as had the bedding and pillows that were stacked accordingly on the floor. It was hard to believe that Chris had been there at all. Sherry looked hard at the note and re-read it for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning.

"Sherry, I'm sorry, but I couldn't stay. I need to get things figured out on my own, but I promise I'll call when I figure out where I am headed," signed plainly and simply, "Chris." The letter ended nearly as abruptly as his stay had been, and she couldn't help but worry and wonder when, or if, she really would ever hear from him again.

Lydia listened intently as the rain beat down upon her window pane. They did need the rain, but....

Lydia was desperate for sun. The rain had been falling for two days, a steady stream of crisp water trickling from an ever-present grey sky. What she wouldn't give for just two hours of warm daylight to enjoy and lose herself in for a little while. Not to mention the house seemed cooler when the rain was falling, just a little bit more empty. Chris had been gone a month now. Hopefully the rain was helping the grass around his grave-spot grow in. Fresh green grass would be so much more inviting to sit upon than the newly turned dirt that was an all too painful reminder he was new to that area, and gone from hers.

The lights of the oncoming car winked at Sue and her sister, Elaine as they waited along the side of the road...

It had been a bitterly cold wait. Sue and Elaine were all too eager to be home. Christmas was always a fun-filled time spent with family and friends. Elaine had been so excited to pick Sue up from the airport and travel home for the holidays with her. Five months ago Sue had departed for College and Elaine had missed her. Home felt so empty, the room they shared together felt equally void of her presence. Elaine longed for those nights the two would stay up late into the early hours of the morning chatting about everything under the sun. That was life as it was - a past reality they never really stopped to think would ever change. Sue was in college now - Elaine would soon follow next year. Life was changing and it came to a shrieking reality as the two girls sat huddled on the roadside with a blown-out tire and new awareness of just how different things were and could be down the road. For now - all they cared about was home, the Christmas lights that were ahead, and the opportunity to just be together, if for a while.

The large, heavy oak door massively covered the entrance to the building...Erica reached up to grasp the cold, metal handle....

It was shockingly frigid. As if it had not been touched by human hands in years. This old chapel of a building had always haunted her. In the summers, when the leaves were green with summer, Erica would often play down by the river bed, just yards from it's little fenced in garden and enticing entrance. Often she would imagine herself a young bride, ready to meet the love of her life as the oak door would swing wide inviting her to step into her dreams and truly live.

The leaves whispered to the trees as the cool breeze circled the neighborhood... it was eerie the way the only sound to be heard was the trees...

This was exactly what she needed. If all of Jessica's cares boiled down to the sound of the wind whipping through the trees then everything just might be right in her world, but it wasn't. Most days all she could feel was the painful race of her heart as days mounted with stress and insurmountable obstacles. She had only dreamed of a retreat like this. Mike knew she needed this get-a-way more than anything so he had loaded her on the next available flight out to Maine and a little bed and breakfast that waited to sweep her off into another world altogether. Jessica didn't need the bed and breakfast for that - her thoughts did a fine job all by themselves.

"But I have always wanted a pony!!" Miriam whined to her boyfriend, Charlie...

Realistically her banter was just in jest, but an honest assessment of the conversation left Miriam with so many doubts. Charlie and herself were so very different and so was their relationship. In a sense, their relationship was unlike anything that she herself had ever wanted. Miriam was a quiet free-spirit who loved pleasing the people who were in her life. Most of the time this worked, but on occasion it left deep unrest withing the core of who she really was which only confused her with questions that she couldn't answer. Perhaps, thought Miriam to herself, it was time to do something about it.

It was a cold, windy day when Sandy heard the news....

Her cell phone had been ringing non-stop in her back pocket as she jogged through central park. The wind was biting with every beat of her shoes against the pavement, but the fall colors in the trees enchanted her. Sandy had tried to ignore the real world calling, but to no avail. Exasperated, she stopped long enough to catch her breath before picking up. It was Sam on the other end of the line. Charissa had just quite and the top marketing position stood wide and was her's for the taking, if she wanted it. Sandy's heart leaped - this is what she had worked her life away for, but now, she just wasn't sure if she wanted it anymore. Actually, she didn't know what she wanted. "Sandy, this is it, this is your shot. I need an answer now," said Sam.