Chapter 13 All I See Is Black

• The festival was alive with noise and color. Bright banners fluttered in the cool breeze, and the melody of country music filled the air, mingling with the sounds of laughter and chatter. Everywhere I looked, there were people-some dancing, some eating, others simply enjoying the festivities. I wanted to feel the joy that seemed to surround me, to let the happiness of the day wash over me. But I couldn't. My thoughts were too scattered, my heart too heavy.
• I had a task, one that weighed on me like a stone. I needed to go before my father and the church priests to request a divorce. It was an impossible errand in many ways; it would mean asking them to grant me a freedom that no one in my position had ever been allowed. My family's reputation, my own future-they would all be thrown into question. But I had to do it. I had to escape this marriage, this loveless, suffocating prison.
• I moved through the crowd, my mind focused on what I had to say, on the words I needed to find to convince them. My feet were swift and purposeful, driven by determination. Then, just as I reached the edge of the festival square, I saw her.