Scenario:a good story
Create my version of this story
The drive back to Willow Creek had been a long one, and it gave me too much time to think about what I was doing.
Why I was here.
I let my eyes wander over the towering pines that lined both sides of the winding road and eventually, Willow River came into view.
It flowed slow and steady, the water the color of caramel and just as smooth.
It was sunny, and there were a few clouds in the sky, but they were small and fluffy and didn’t look like they could unleash a storm at any time.
Not like the storm raging inside me.
With a sigh, I turned my attention back to the road, my grip on the steering wheel tightening as I steered around a curve that would lead me through town and eventually, to the little house I’d inherited.
I hadn’t been back to Willow Creek in ten years.
I’d been gone so long, but it didn’t take but a second for me to remember why I’d called this place home for most of my life.
The sign that welcomed people to Willow Creek appeared in front of my windshield, and my heart twisted at the sight of it.
The car slowed to a stop at a red light, and my gaze wandered over the street.
There were mountains in the distance, and the sky was so blue.
It was absolutely beautiful here, and for a split second, I considered staying.
But as soon as it came, the thought was gone.
There was nothing here for me anymore, and I needed to get this over with so I could move on.
To start over somewhere else where no one knew who I was or the things I’d done.
The light turned green, and I pulled forward, glancing at the people walking along the street as they crossed at the crosswalk.
They were all strangers, but they looked friendly enough.
Happy even, and it made me feel like an outsider more than ever before, a feeling that had followed me since I could remember.
It didn’t matter where I went or who I met—I never quite fit in anywhere.
And that was okay.
I’d long ago made peace with that fact, and my eyes dropped to my lap where my hands were folded in front of me as I waited at the light.
Ten years hadn’t been enough to erase my past completely, and it had taken less than a day for it to catch up to me now that I was back in town.
I’d just parked my car outside my new home when it happened, and as soon as I stepped out of my car and took a deep breath, the weight of my decision hit me hard—forcing me to sit down on the bottom step of my front porch before I passed out from the heaviness of it all.
But that was hours ago, and now that I felt more like myself and less like the walking dead, it was time to get this over with.
Pulling myself together and standing up from the step, I locked my car and headed toward town on foot.