You could blame it on the rain. You could say that it had happened because of the rain, but if you went back further, you could say that if she had not decided to take the shortcut through the alley, she would not have died. But she had taken the shortcut due to the rain. It all came back to the rain.

Sarah had left her office later than usual, because her boss, Mr Meyers, had given her an important document that needed to be finalized before the next morning. The client was waiting for it.
She had managed to get almost everything done and it only needed a few small changes that she could do if she came in a little earlier the next morning.
She picked up her bag after having made sure that everything had been packed away and switched off.
Usually when she left, it was still light outside, so she would walk home. She didn’t stay too far, but today there was a storm threatening. She had looked for her pocket book so that she could take a taxi, but she couldn't find it, so she was forced to walk home in the gathering gloom.

Sarah was scared. She hadn’t taken the time to change into more comfortable shoes like she normally did, so she had to walk home in 3 inch heels, which were killing her feet.
There was no way that she would slow down though, because the rain had started to fall, the darkness had descended with the speed of light and she was almost certain someone was following her. She couldn’t be 100% sure because of the noise of the falling rain, but she had that creepy feeling at the back of her neck.

Sarah was really getting spooked. She had trouble seeing through the sheets of pelting water and she didn’t want to stop and wait for the rain to pass, so she drudged on.
She was still a few blocks from her apartment building, so if she put on a little more speed, she would reach it more quickly.
The feeling of someone following her grew and she didn’t want to take the time to look behind her. She wasn’t even sure that she wanted to look.
Was that laughter she heard or was the rain playing tricks on her?

She was so charged, but she wouldn’t be able to handle another burst of speed, unless she took off her heels, which was turning into a serious consideration.
The sound of a trash can falling, only slightly dampened by the beating rain, decided her to take off her expensive shoes and leave them. With a surge of adrenaline, she started a fast jog, hauling her purse strap over her head so that she could have her hands free to move easier.

If she could just reach her apartment block, the guard downstairs would help her. She needed to reach the safety of her apartment block. She was a little unfit so the running was taking its toll, making her breathing more difficult. The adrenaline was also wearing off, so she was slowing to a jog- trot, which was in turn making her more desperate to reach home.

This was the last time she would work late. Next time Mr Meyers could do his own work. He had a car so he could drive home safely without getting drenched and being scared of the dark hiding boogey monsters, drug addicts and who knew what else?

Sarah had reached the two- blocks-left marker and before she could cross the road she heard running footsteps behind her. There came the adrenaline rush again, which caused her to take the shortcut through the alley. This she would normally only consider doing in broad daylight and preferably with someone next to her, but she was so jumpy and scared that she didn’t even think twice and just turned right into the alley.

There wasn't really anywhere for her to hide in the alley except at the end where there was a door into the back entrance of one of the buildings. Maybe if she ran very quickly she would make it before anything happened. Her legs felt like they had lead weights attached, so she doubted that she would move any faster thatn she was moving at present.
Sarah could now see the door at the end of the alley and was almost starting to feel a small sense of relief. Almost there. Almost there. She had no breath left to chant the words, so she only mouthed them silently, urging herself on.

Just as she reached the door, she decided to sneak a look behind her and screamed, for there stood a giant behind her.

"Please excuse me. I didn't mean to scare you, but you dropped your pocket book. I've been chasing you for the last few blocks and would've caught up with you sooner but I had a slight altercation with a garbage bin." Stephen could see that the lady in front of him was in shock and shaking uncontrollably. He felt like a real idiot for scaring the daylights out of her.
Sarah was so overwhelmed with relief and the cold was making her shake so much that she couldn't get a word out, so with a quivering hand and a heaving chest, she reached out to take the pocket book.
"Listen, I feel very bad for scaring you so much. Let me go with you the rest of the way. At least you will be protected from the rain." Stephen said, holding up his umbrella as a peace offering.
Recalling everything that had happened during her journey from the office, she didn't particularly want to walk anywhere alone for a while and judging from the earnest expression from the man in front her, she decided to accept his offer.
"Thank you. I'd like it if you walked with me, but I just need to die quickly." Sarah answered.
"Excuse me? What do you mean?"
Stephen was completely taken aback. What was she talking about?
"I need to die from embarrasment. Screaming like a schoolgirl. I've never been so embarrassed. I should've looked behind me and not run like a scared chicken. And look at me. I'm a total wreck. A drowning duck. Not to mention that I left my very expensive shoes behind for no reason." she replied, trying to wipe rain water and mascara from her face, only streaking it more in the process.
"Don't worry, you look fine."
"Liar."
With her last reply, she burst out laughing, slightly from shock, but mostly from relief, because she was not going to be attacked after all. After a few seconds, Stephen joined in the laughter, glad to see that she was looking better.
"Come, let's go before we have to start swimming." he said, gently taking her arm to guide her out of the alley.
"My name's Stephen Saunders by the way." he said, almost forgetting that he hadn't introduced himself yet and that he had no clue what her name was.
"I'm Sarah. Sarah Jameson. Pleased to meet you Stephen. So, where do you live?" Sarah asked as they walked the rest of the way to her apartment
"This is me. Come on, you can get dry upstairs while you wait for the rain to pass." she offered when they stopped outside her building.
"Thanks, that would really be good." he accpeted the invitation and together they went up to her apartment.

So, you could blame it on the rain that Sarah died that day. She might have thought that she was dying from embarrasment, but her old self, the one that went home alone every night, died, causing her to rise from the ashes into a happy relationship with Stephen.

Sarah and Stephen blame the rain for their happiness and will forever be thankful to the rain.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 23.09.2009

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