Long Lost

She paused at the door. There was a little sign that read, "You only get one life, Live it to the fullest."

She suddenly remembered with a tang of pain. It seemed already she had lost too much. It was almost unbearable that one could just wink out of life like a candle. It was strange that most of the time she forgot altogether.

She shook free the emotions and knocked. The door creaked open. Peeking inside, she sighed, and proceeded into the mansion.

The decoration style was hauntingly familiar. But she dismissed the thought. Any person could have done this, she scorned herself. After all, it was a popular theme.

She wandered through the hallways, peering into each room carefully.

How is it possible that someone would- and could- hide so carefully when they had an appointment? she asked herself, scanning a dining room. She stopped- and gasped. There on a wall, a painting created by a lost friend. False hope, she told herself, unconvincingly. She left the room.

Finally, she reached an office, on the second floor, a figure standing on a balcony, looking over the city. She walked through the office in a disbelieving state. She lifted one of the curtains and stepped into the strong spring sun.

"You're alive?"