Romeo and Juliet

Alice stared hard at the looming building, her heart racing as though she had run a marathon. She rubbed her sweaty palm on the back of her sun dress, while squeezing the handle of the basket that she was holding with her other hand. The only thing that came to her mind in that moment was, what the hell was she doing here?

It wasn't too late to turn back, right? It wasn't as though anyone had noticed that she had walked inside the house gate and was standing outside of the door contemplating whether to knock. The only person she had encountered so far was the gate man who had welcomed her, not bothering to announce her appearance or show her the way since she was a familiar face.

Familiarity? Was that not the exact thing that brought her to this very point?

"I should go back, I don't belong here." She whispered and turned. The basket in her left hand felt heavier and she pondered on whether to drop it at the front door. No, that was a bad idea.