A Regular Life

Once upon a time there was a girl with dark brown eyes and brown hair with just the right amount of natural red highlights. She was tall for a girl and she had curves. She lived a normal life. She had friends, a great family, was in the top 5 of her class, played sports and was in drama. She had received many awards for her acting. She had an internship at a local television station. She had dreamed about traveling the world and visiting as many cultures as she possibly could. She wasn't popular but she didn't want to be. Her friends were her best friends and that was life. She dreamt of excitement.

She lived in a small rural town in the middle of nowhere. She always called her home a dome. She was protected from anything bad in the world. Her life was simple, safe, and boring. Once she bought her first car she was able to travel to neighboring towns and was able to start to have fun. She enjoyed going to county fairs and to the movies and to the closest mall, which was over an hour away from where she lived. Life was starting to get better.

The summer after she graduated she spent her time working and hanging out with her friends. Her plan was to move down south and stay with relatives and start community college to try to accomplish her dreams. She wasn't rich, the only money she had was for what she worked for. Everything she owned she had gotten herself. She was determined.

Two days before she was supposed to leave there was a storm. It was one of the rare times a hurricane was big enough to travel through her mountainous town in the middle of inland New England. There was no where for the water to go but to travel down the river that ran through the center of her town. It caused a massive flood. The smell of propane in the air. Mini fires floating on the water. Bridges collapsed. Skate board ramps from the skate park floated down the river along with the giant recycling dumpsters. Books, yarn, bar stools, everything from the small shops and restaurants in town floated on the top of the water and got stuck in trees and fences. All the surrounding roads had washed out and were destroyed. No one could leave.

Her home was destroyed. Any belongings that she hadn't managed to save had to be thrown away. Everything that had come in contact with the water was contaminated. Her friends had all left sooner to start college and lives of their own. She was alone...

Anne had woken up in the safety of her bed. The nightmare that has haunted her for the past ten years is stuck in a permanent place inside her mind. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. 2:45 am. She rubbed her eyes, knowing she has to be up in the next 3 hours to get Alexander and Joseph ready for school. She pulled the blanket up over her head and curled up against her boyfriends back. Miles was tall, had red hair, and was muscular. They had been dating for 6 years, and he was the sweetest person and he was the only one her made her feel safe. The love she felt for him was passion, it wasn't fiery. It wasn't the kind of love she dreamed about when she was a teenager. It was more the idea of leading a simple life that her parents had given her growing up. It was a boring life of waking up, taking their kids to school, going to work, and going home to take care of her little family. No friends, no excitement. Just the responsibility of being a parent. This was her life, this is what she was meant to be.

She sighed and fell back to sleep. She needed the precious few hours of sleep to make it through another stressful day of her mundane life. At least that's what she thought. Unbeknownst to her, the universe had a plan to turn her life upside down.