Beyond the Broken Angel

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

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August 30th, 1939

"DARLING, I MUST leave now," Will whispered in his wife's ear as she clung to him, preventing him from exiting through the front door.

"No," Giselle complained, clinging to him tighter. "Don't go to work, just stay home for the day."

Will laughed under his breath. "I'm sorry, my love, but it's imperative that I go. I have a lot of work that needs to get done."

Giselle pouted, finally letting him go. "Fine. I love you, you know that?"

Will smiled, delivering a kiss to her lips. "I think I have figured that out already, darling." He gently moved her aside, giving her a few more kisses as if one wasn't good enough. "If I have time, I'll come home for lunch."

Giselle smiled, nodding. "Alright, I'll hold you to that."

"Oh, I'm sure you will." He gave her one last kiss before turning away and heading towards his car.

Giselle watched his retreating back with a melancholic smile. Tomorrow was September 1st. Tomorrow was the day it all happened.

Realistically, she knew she would still have a few months of time with Will before he would have to leave, but that still didn't make September 1st any less scary.

Because September 1st would bring fear, anxiety, death, anguish, and what felt like the end of the happiness Giselle knew.

She was petrified, and was beginning to feel that each moment with Will was passing by too quickly.

Her heart faltered in her chest as she watched him get into his car, and, normally, she would have let him drive away, but didn't. Because the pain in her chest began to feel like something else, something she was quite familiar with.

"Stop!" Giselle cried out, rushing towards Will's car as he began to drive. She was already crying, something that was beginning to happen more frequently these days.

Will slammed on his brakes, flying out of his car at breakneck speed and meeting Giselle halfway. "What is it?" he asked, brushing away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "What's wrong, darling?"

"I need to go," she told him, her voice breaking. "The tree—it's calling me back."

Will closed his eyes, letting out a breath before tugging her into his embrace. "That's alright, love. Don't be so down, we'll see each other again."

Giselle shook her head, suddenly scared. "But what if it keeps me? What if I'm not able to see you before you have to leave?"

Will gently smoothed back some of the loose curls around her face as he tried to calm her. "Darling, I'm sure that won't happen. So far, it's only been keeping us apart for a few weeks, and I likely won't leave until sometime in the new year. Don't fret, love, have faith."

Giselle calmed at his words, leaning forward to rest her cheek against his chest. "Yeah, you're probably right. The most I'll probably be gone is a few weeks."

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October 18th, 2019