This is my Fate

rs. The clock on the wall ticked louder now that the dinner rush had passed, each second dragging Lena closer to the end of her sh

elderly regular, her voice warm and kind, despite the exh

na," the man replied

he murmured, almost to herself, be

k circles shadowed her eyes, loose strands of hair escaped her ponytail, and faint smears of f

e sat her younger sister, Lizzy, lost in her sketchbook, pencil moving furiously across the page.

o, Liz," L

nute!" Lizzy said

ark in Lena's otherwise routine life. Her sister was everything Lena wasn't: full of hope, cr

nsets they watched from their porch. But Lena's mind wandered, each step feeling heavier than

listening?" Li

en a long day," Lena r

have to work long shifts anymore," Lizzy said confidently. Her unwav

he house was quiet-too quiet, as if it had resigned itself to the same monotonous fate Len

ore. More than the diner, more than this tiny town, more than the relentless predictab

's voice drifted down the stairs

called back, but

the silence. Lizzy's door was slightly open, and when

waying in the chilly night breeze. Lizzy's sketchbook lay ab

o the window, scanning the street below. It w

nd burst through the front door. Her breath c

dge of their yard. Heart pounding, Lena ra

funny!" she yelled,

ze. Lizzy stood there, her back to Lena, s

oing out here?" Lena a

Her eyes were wide, her face pale.

are you tal

ig snapped nearby. Lena spun to

grabbing Lizzy's hand

pe pinned to a tree with a rusted nail. The edges were wor

at?" Lizzy

rom the tree. Scrawled across the front in

g a single sheet of paper inside. The message

ou are, but they do.

e words sank in. Who had wr

's voice was

na stuffed the note int

dow, her hands shaking. Lizzy curled up on

g on, Lena?"

r-her entire world-she silently vowed to protect her, no matt

The note lay hidden under Lena's pil

wake with a start. The creak of footsteps o

but the only response wa

oor began t