After that night, Janice had never looked back. She drove until she had run
out of gas. She got out of the car and walked to the nearest motel, never to
return to it. She had created a new identity for herself and taken a job at the
local florist shop.
Despite what it may seem, Janice found the change somewhat of a relief. Her
old life had been suffocating her. For one thing, her job was less than
thrilling. In school, she had always had a thing for math. She liked the
stability of equations and the idea that there is always a right answer. But
after working as an accountant for a few years, she was beginning to feel
purposeless. Her job was so joyless, so dull: only numbers and numbers and
numbers. Who cared about the answer if the question was meaningless?
Her love life wasn’t stellar either. Her boyfriend, Rob, seemed liked the
ideal boyfriend. He was smart, handsome, and the owner of a prosperous business.
He should have been the greatest thing that ever happened to her. But he
wasn’t. He was a bore. Even though he was intelligent, he only talked of the
superficial. He seemed to be motivated solely by financial gain. She really
didn’t feel much for him. There was something so unreal about him.
She didn’t have many friends either, which would be hard for anyone who
knew her to believe. Janice was often seen chatting with a variety of people.
But that was all it was: chatting. She didn’t know anyone to whom she could
really feel connected. She had no one to confide in, no one she could count on
to help her in a time of need.
From the outside her life seemed perfect; she had the perfect boyfriend, a
well-paid job, and numerous friends. But her supposed dream life was only a
mirage. If she hadn’t found the body, she might have left anyway; just to get
away from it all, if only for the sake of feeling something. She was on the edge
then. She felt as if she had run against a dead end and if she hadn’t changed
something fast, who knows what she would have done.
Her life was different now. It wasn’t a struggle to get up in the morning
anymore. She never thought flower arranging would be so fulfilling for her. But
she really enjoyed it; it was her way of being connected to nature. The whole
place smelled of the sweetest fresh flowers and she would peacefully put
together flower arrangements, a skill she never knew that she had. She’d also
found a great friend, Nancy. Nancy worked with Janice in the flower shop. She
was the kindest person Janice had ever met. She was the first person who Janice
felt really listened to her, who actually cared what she said and wasn’t just
waiting to talk about themselves. Her life was really turning around. Her heart
hadn’t felt this light in ages.
And then the notes started coming.
It made her stomach turn just thinking about them. She didn’t want to face
the reality of that fateful night.
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