Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring

Back in the city, days had passed with no sign of Emma. Alexander was physically present in his meetings, but his mind was elsewhere, consumed by the mystery of her sudden disappearance. She had asked for a week to sort things out, yet in two days, she had vanished as if she expected such a move from him to divorce her. Matters had just gotten even more complicated when her car was found abandoned in the middle of nowhere, and his mother, Brianna, was relentless in her demands for answers. Coming out of the meeting hall, Alexander was met by Kevin, his right-hand man, who wore a sorrowful look. "Sir, there's no trace of Miss Emma," Kevin reported. "No records of her leaving the country, and none of her friends have seen her. It's like she vanished into thin air."

Alexander's patience snapped. "She's not a needle! She can't just have disappeared! Find her, Kevin! If you want to keep your job, you'd better find her!" His voice was laced with an underlying threat, and Kevin visibly flinched at it.

"Yes, sir. I'll keep searching," Kevin quickly reassured him, his voice urgent. "Also, Miss Annie is waiting for you in your office."

News that would have ordinarily generated some semblance of satisfaction in Alexander merely contributed to his irritation on this particular day. His mind simply would not quiet from the thoughts of Emma even though Annie, the woman he had always purportedly wanted, awaited him. Now that Emma was gone, there was a strange emptiness at the bottom of his stomach. He wore a mask of contentment for his office as he made his way towards it, keeping in his mind that he had Annie, all he had ever needed.

He stepped into his office. Annie rose from the chair, her face lighting up as she looked at him. "Alexander," she said warmly as she walked towards him with a soft smile on her face.

He smiled, small and tight-lipped, fighting the growing turmoil inside him. "Annie," he said, his tone flat.

Annie noticed his her lack of enthusiasm but pushed the feeling aside and reached up, circling her arms around him in a light embrace. "I missed you," she said softly, laying her head against his chest.

Alexander stood rigidly for a moment before he reluctantly wrapped his arms around her. He longed for the warmth that he used to feel whenever she was close to him, but his mind was filled with Emma and where she might be. Was she safe? Was she hiding from him? The questions chewed at him, making it difficult to focus on anything else.

"Is everything okay?" Annie asked, pulling partially back to look up at him; concern etched onto her face.

He forced a smile and nodded. "Just a lot on my mind lately," he lied effortlessly.

Annie watched him for a moment, knowing instinctively that something wasn't quite right, before she let it be. She leaned into him instead and pressed a soft kiss against his lips as if trying to steer his mind away from whatever was bothering him.

But even as her lips met his, Alexander's mind was miles away, chasing the ghost of the woman who had vanished so suddenly from his life.

ΑΛΛΑ

The words came like a bolt of lightning as they hit Emma. Pregnant? How could she be pregnant? She had just gotten out of her old life, started fresh, and now this. As the reality of the situation set in, she realized that the last connection to Alexander was still with her, inside her. She was speechless with shock as her mind began racing, trying to work out what this meant for her future.

Emma did not sleep for days, knowing she was pregnant. The life inside her overwhelmed her, bringing mixed feelings-glad to be a mother, yet with deep sadness, knowing her child would grow up not feeling the love of a father. Yet, she kept telling herself that it was all for the best. She felt the pain Alexander had caused her was too great, and she swore to keep the fact that she had his child from him, believing he would make attempts to take the child from her if he ever found out.

Determined to give her child the best life possible, Emma, now fully embracing her new identity as Veronica Moore, decided it was time to take matters into her own hands and dictate the course of her life. She had always loved flowers for their beauty and the joy they brought; thus, she sought work from a local flower shop. The work was honest and simple, a stark contrast to the turmoil she had recently endured, and it felt like the perfect way to start over.

As she filled out the application, her mind firmed up. She would start anew, and she and her child would leave behind all sorts of shadows of her past life. This job was just the first step in building that future, one where she could finally find peace and happiness, even if it meant doing it all on her own.

The news about the acceptance of her application gladdened Emma's heart. This was finally a place where she would attempt to start anew after everything that had happened in her life. A small triumph in the sea of her calamities. Soon enough, she started to become one of the best workers in the flower shop: her attention to detail, her care for plants, her silent dedication did not go unseen by the manager, Mrs. Sarah Hayes. Soon, Emma was chosen as the "Best Worker of the Month," which was even more surprising to her than to anyone else.

Months slipped away, and she became an accepted member of the shop. The labor brought her solace, a quiet cadence to the turbulent rhythms of her life. As she arranged roses or watered orchids, the troubles of her past marriage and the heartache somehow dissipated, at least for a while. But while her heart had been bruised by Alexander Black. The man who once called himself her husband-something new had been in bloom on the inside of her. Her stomach began to swell-a real reminder of the life that was growing inside. Every time she looked at her tummy, she smiled. The child in her womb just seemed to be a blessing, the one guiltless and bright thing to come from the ruins of her marriage. Whatever hurt Alexander had caused, their child was a treasure that would always be close to her heart. Lying in bed every night, she promised the baby inside how she would be the best mom to him. "You're the best thing he ever gave me," she told him softly, rubbing her belly. In her heart, she felt this child was Alexander's final farewell gift, a bittersweet memento of what they had and what they lost.

It was a hot afternoon, and Emma was watering flowers along with some of her colleagues when the little bell above the door of the shop gave its tinkle.

An older, frail woman, wearing an expensive sleek suit, walked in. Gray hair drawn back into an elegant bun, perfectly classy, as if she was used to commanding attention in every room. In a soft voice yet firm, she ordered white lilies. Finally, one of the workers had just begun to serve her when something suddenly went wrong. The old woman gasped in shock, clutching at her chest as her face twisted in pain. Suddenly, she began to collapse. The worker who was attending her screamed for help, and the entire shop was thrown into chaos. People crowded over, but no one knew what to do. Panic spread in a jiffy till complete chaos took over.

But Emma remembered those aching days when her father, who had died of a heart attack, would come home; the signs were so unmistakable. She knew what she had to do.

"Move!" she commanded, louder than she'd intended. She scrambled forwards without any further urging and knelt beside the old woman, commencing CPR, her hands flew as she counted out loud. Thirty chest compressions, two rescue breaths-over and over and over again. The shop had fallen silent; her coworkers stared in some sort of half-terrified, half-admiring awe.

Emma was breathing hard, her heart racing in anticipation, yet she maintained her cool. "Please, please," she muttered under her breath, sending silent prayers for the woman to react. It had felt like an eternity before the old woman stirred. Briefly, her eyelids flickered open, though weak.

Mrs. Sarah Hayes, the one who had called 911, quickly came running toward Emma. "The paramedics are on their way," she added with a still-shaking tone but relieved. "Emma you gotta go along with her to the hospital. She is all alone."

Emma nodded, breathless and undeterred. The next second she jumped into the already broken-down ambulance with the paramedics, off at full speed with them to deliver the woman to the nearest hospital. She kept holding the old woman's hand all the way, comforting her as best as she could.

Hours crawled by as she sat beside the hospital bed, observing the regular rise and fall of the old woman's chest.

When the woman finally opened her eyes, there was a soft, almost motherly expression in them. She blinked a time or two, staring into Emma's face as if it were some sort of apparition from another time and place altogether. Then she slowly leaned forward, touching trembling, frail fingers against Emma's cheek. "Diana?" she whispered, her voice hoarse but deep with emotion. "My dear daughter, are you really here with me?"

With those words, Emma's heart clutched in her chest. She wasn't Diana, but in this moment, she could feel the burden of this woman's love and longing. Tears sprang into Emma's eyes as she reached forward, laying a gentle hand over the woman's. Before Emma could utter a word, the door opened, and a lady entered; her eyes were full of concerns. "Mrs. Walker."

She rushed to the bed and took the old woman's hand, wholly unnoticing of Emma. "How are you? I came the instant that I was summoned."