I’m done. I’ve been here, waiting, in this tower for thirty years. My past lover, Sir Kevin of Sandfolk, promised he would come back for me. He broke that promise long ago, but now I’m taking action. I’ll just have to save myself. I’ve been thinking about how I could go about this. It can’t be that hard right? But for some reason, I had a ball forming in the pit of my stomach, telling me to stop. I’ve never listened to this sign before, so why start now?

My gloomy tower isn’t that high off the ground, or at least I think it isn’t. The air surrounding the tower held a mist. It felt like it was trying to reach out and choke me. This just made the forming ball worsen.

I knew I couldn’t jump, but I could probably shimmy down with a rope or something. Luckily for me, I had kept an old rope from one of my food deliveries.

I grabbed this so-called rope and secured it to a hook in the wall. I carefully gathered the few things I own—an old book, some watercolors, and my mother’s locket, one of my most prized possessions. I’ve had it for as long as I can remember. It’s the only thing I have left of her. While reliving the past, I commenced my escape.

I glided down the rope, making me feel hopeful for my escape. When I hit the soft ground beneath the tower, my attitude changed. The ball in the pit of my stomach practically burst, causing me to fall backwards. I landed on the wet moss that covered the earth’s surface. It took me a moment to catch my breath. Then, I took action. A rush of adrenaline hit me as I started running.

I fled north, where I knew my old home used to be located just as I had planned. After almost running half a mile, I was abruptly stopped by a warm hand wrapping around my forearm. I tried to turn to see this mystery man, but got stopped by a cold blade touching my throat.

I don’t know why I was actually planning on being able to escape. Obviously, I’ve been here thirty years for a reason.

All the hope from before drained out of me in a quick second. The cloudy trees around me started to blur. My breath quickened, and all went dark.