The rain had finally stopped, dark clouds giving way to cautiously blue sky.
Yellow streaks of sunlight cut through the dim chamber.
Rory let out a sigh and, as they crossed to the door, said, "Alright - let's get this over with."
Hesitantly they open the door, the knob cold to the touch; winter just around the corner.
Right at the end of the sidewalk, a car sat waiting, warm with an impatient idle.
Each step drawing Rory closer to the dark blue sedan amped up their feelings of dread.
Don't let her see your nerves, Rory they thought to themselves.
"So. You're finally here," said the sinister voice wafting out from the rolled-down window.
Working up the nerve, Rory leaned toward the open window trying to catch a glimpse of the woman.
No one had seen the woman; certainly never her face, but one thing was for sure, she controlled the city.
"Yeah, sorry," Rory apologized, "I thought you said to meet you out front at one."
Every time she set a meet, no matter if Rory was early or late, her impatience was palpable.
"Excuses are like dead horses, Rory," the woman purred. "They get you nowhere and really stink."
Keen on cutting this conversation short Rory moved to the passenger door, took a deep breath, and got in.
In the beginning, Rory had just wanted to do something helpful for their mom.
Most of the time, they kept to themselves, including when at home.
However, since the accident, Rory put out a solid effort to do things for those they cared about and held dear.
Drizzle fell on the close-knit curtain of pine boughs that crowded the cabin from all sides.
Scorching flames arose from the fireplace as Rory added maple wood to it.
Invigorated by the smell of burning almost-syrup, Rory wrapped up their simple calisthenic stretches and got ready to kick off their daily 5-mile loop around the lake.