Adrian Darling's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Adrian paced the dark room of his small stone refuge, turning a pale wooden ring between his fingers. He had taken it from her windowsill the night her laugh stopped him cold. Two letters were carved into the wood. He did not know her name, but he knew those initials, and he knew he loved her. The memory was fading. He could no longer picture the color of her eyes. He gripped the ring harder and stepped outside into the wet night. He returned to the spot beneath her window, where a stone figure crouched in the garden. He had stood here once for ten minutes, listening. Tonight the window was dark. The house was empty. A folded paper was nailed to the frame: SOLD. Adrian tore the paper down. She was gone, and he had waited too long. He slid the ring onto his smallest finger and began to walk. He would find her, or he would forget her trying.