A Realm of Sun and Shadow

Chapter 1

My pulse thumped in my ears as I slammed into the door and came stumbling out into the alley. It was dark and smelled like damp garbage, making each of my strained breaths even more unpleasant as I choked down the chilly air.

Something moved to my left and I turned with a start to see a few people from the club were huddled together smoking just beyond the faint light emanating from above the door. 

All of them were staring at me.

My cheeks flushed as I wrapped my arms tightly around my shoulders and began to walk in the opposite direction.

Nothing special to see here, I thought. Just another girl having a good old-fashioned panic attack.

An unfortunately common occurrence for me these days.

"You alright?" One of the girls yelled out to me between puffs.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Uh... Thanks," I said leaning back against the wall next to the dumpster, my legs too wobbly to walk far.

Luckily my reassurance seemed to do the trick and the group shuffled back into the club without another word.

As the door clicked shut behind them I groaned. I should be inside talking up a cute, dirty blonde, tattooed dreamboat named Nick. Not standing alone in the middle of a cold, dark alley next to a stinking dumpster.

For a split second, I debated going back in, but the door had one of those little key card boxes. The smokers must've been employees.

There was no way I was getting back in that way.

My stomach twisted into a refreshed knot as the vision of Nate flittered across my mind. It'd taken me two hours to get ready for the pleasure of a whole ten excruciating minutes in the club.

The thin layer of sweat built up on my skin in those minutes I'd been packed into the Blue Diamond absorbed the cold air and I shivered. I'd dropped my jacket somewhere as I'd fought through the crowd in my desperate quest to find an exit.

"Way to go, Nora," I mumbled under my breath as I slid off the wall and started down the alley towards my apartment. Deep down I knew this whole mess hadn't been my fault, but it was still going to be a long while before I let myself off the hook for getting excited over the idea of Nate being interested in me.

I let out another groan and wrapped my arms around my head. Just another torturous personal embarrassment to punish myself with over and over again for all eternity. Even if it wasn't my fault.

This had all been Martha's doing. She'd been the one to get my hopes up and I'd been stupid enough to let her.

Martha was a self-proclaimed witch who lived in my building and we chatted in the hall from time to time. She was pleasant and I enjoyed talking with her in those limited instances, but to say we were friends was a stretch.

I'd seen her coming up the stoop this morning when I'd gone to check my mail and instead of running back to my apartment in an attempt to avoid human contact like usual, I'd actually waved and even helped with the door as she'd come stumbling in with her hands full of bags.

"Nora! I'm so glad I ran into you," she'd said as she'd tossed back a stray blue dreadlock from the messy knot on the top of her head.

The first time I'd ever met Martha she'd shoved a basket of crystals, sage, and funky smelling candles into my arms to help me cleanse my apartment. She was intense but sweet, and always seemed genuinely happy to see me. Which was a strange yet new and exciting experience for me.

"Hey," I'd croaked back, realizing I'd not actually spoken to another human being in over a week. As a freelance artist, it was easy for me to fall into periods of prolonged seclusion, resulting in a general lack of human interaction for weeks at a time.