And That's All She Wrote {Day 8}

Dianna sat in the rich black dirt, her eyes wet with tears. She clutched the carousel horse to her chest and tried to take her mind off all things important. But she couldn't. What had happened was like a knife through the heart and she knew, no matter how hard she tried to travel back to her childhood, or forget the things that had just gone on, she never would. She was not getting married that day. And that realization was going to be the death of her.

She always knew it was going to end this way. When Roger kept pushing the date back or making up excuses not to help plan the ceremony, she knew, in her heart, that he never really intended to marry her. He was a politician, and therefore, he was a snake. He'd used her for publicity votes and then, upon winning the election, cast her aside like a useless rag doll.

They were supposed to be wed that afternoon. But he had taken her aside that morning and explained that things just "weren't working out between them." She said nothing in response. She just turned on her heel and ran and ran, leaving him to deal with the confused wedding guests on his own. She didn't stop running until she knew no one could see her and then she collapsed and started to weep. Only when she calmed down enough to look up did she see the carousel horse.

It sat there, on the side of the path all by itself, filthy and alone. How it got there or where it came from, she didn't know. It reminded Dianna so much of herself. And so she crawled over and snatched it up and hugged it to herself while she shivered in the cold. She rocked herself gently back and forth, still crying, trying to find some sort of light at the end of the tunnel or other comfort. She found none.

That was where Andy and Sarah found her: half asleep, with tear-stained cheeks and pale white skin, murmuring to herself that she would be fine. They picked her up and brought her home where they fed her and tried to convince her that Roger was a worthless git, that she deserved better than him. She just nodded and looked away. Maybe they were right, maybe not. But she'd taken a blow to the heart that day and she knew that no matter what comfort or kind words people tried to bring her, she would never be the same again.