Before Paradise

"Unbidden tears slipped out of the corners of my eyes. We were going to have been married next summer. Fear drove me forward faster. With each step, my chest constricted, feeling as though my insides were turning outward. I clutched at my side, a sharp pain forming in it, and concentrated on breathing deeply. A lifetime of images flashed in front of me. There would be no wedding. I would never the chance to know him intimately. Gone was the privilege of growing old with him.

Humming, I trie...