Chapter 25: Reflections Of The Past (Part IV)
The young man was in love. It was the night of his birthday. Hand in hand with Vera, the pair was on their way home from the opening night of a spectacular play. While he enjoyed the show, it was the furthest thing from his mind in that moment. This night was going to be the night he asked her to marry him.
The weather appeared to be in hard contrast with the young man’s upbeat attitude as rain rushed from the gray skies above. Unfortunately, neither of them had brought an umbrella and still had a good distance left to walk. They quickly ran to a small overhang on a nearby building to wait out the storm.
The city streets quickly became vacant as the rain thickened. The two stood under the shelter for quite some time, though neither of them were bothered by this predicament. As they kissed, he decided it would be a good time to at last reveal his true feelings. He reached into his pocket for the ring but was unexpectedly shoved to the ground.
Clueless as to what had just taken place, the young man struggled to get onto his feet only to have his head viciously stomped into the cobblestone. Her screams of terror cut through him as he desperately tried to fight his delirious state. Turning his head, he saw two men dragging her into a nearby alley. One of the men glanced back at him, noticing he’d survived the assault.
The young man got to his feet and charged the attackers. As the first man covered her mouth and dragged her farther down the dark passageway, the second confronted the young man and swiftly gave him a harsh beating. The young man fell to the ground once more. He was losing consciousness quickly as he was stomped again and again. The final sounds he heard were her muffled, terrified screams as the first man barbarously ripped her clothing. With a devastating blow to the young man’s head, he lost consciousness. That night would be the last time he saw her. Love was dead.