Safe Haven

I kept running, even after the footsteps stopped. Even after the shouting traffic and penetrating screams faded away. The blinding memory of that knife, sliding from the stranger's pocket, finally stopped cutting at the edges of my vision. I looked around, leaning against the cold bricks of an alley I had never known was here. Trying to get control of my panting, I became aware that my clothes were drenched…in escaped fear.

Was I still in danger?

Was I even in the same City? Nothing look familiar. I felt lost in time. I wanted to retrace my steps, but wondered what might be waiting for me back there.

I stepped out into the street, having no idea where I was

The Journey

The wheels turned with a squeak and a protest. The horses strained against the gluey mud, which refused, like a mother over her first-born son, to release its hold. The strength of the man's arm, as he continually struck the backs of the horses with the leather strap, seemed not enough persuasion for the horses or the mud. Finally, with a jolt, the carriage broke out of its taffy embankment and began again rolling, rattling, through the storm.