Change

Each year, they would travel. Neither would ever be alone, and one would never be without the other. Day after day, year after year, even after a decade had past, they were still together. Seemingly nothing could separate them from each other. No argument stood between them, no false accusations made by jealous others. They were in it together for the long haul.

That is, until the last winter finally found a way to split the indestructible couple up for good. Neither of them had seen the reflection of the headlights that tried to warn them of the ice on the turn ahead. The car had hit it just as Justin started to turn the wheel. The car flipped thrice, coming to a stop on it's roof. The smell of gasoline leaking filled Justin's nose, and the smoke from the engine caught his eyes. From his hanging position, he could see his love, eyes shut, dangling from her seat. Her hands were tucked beneath her belt, and a trickle of red was slowly making its way into her brunette hair from a nasty gash on her cheek.

She was out cold, but still breathing. He could see her chest rise and fall, and the puff of smoke from her lips. It was darker outside than he remembered it being, but that was the last thing on his mind. All he wanted to do was get Alisa to safety, and find someone to help her. However, he couldn't move. One hand was pinned between the door and his seat, the bone most likely crushed after the second or third roll. His right arm was free, but he could only reach her belt release, and he didn't want to do that until she was awake.

As if she had heard his mental calls for her to wake, Alisa takes in a stuttering breath. Her eyes softly flutter open, and she tries to turn her head. A pained hiss comes from her lips, and Justin quickly tells her not to move it too much. She most likely cracked a vertebrae, and he didn't want her to worsen it. Alisa tries to ask what happened, but Justin hushes her. He speaks softly, telling her he will release her soon, but she needs to move her arms so she can catch herself. He asks her if she understands that she is to get to the road and signal for help, not to try and help him out when she is free. She tries to protest, but pain stops her. She simply gives a slight nod.

Justin clicks the lock, and Alisa carefully lowers herself from her seat. She pushes herself out of the shattered windshield, heeding warnings from Justin of sharp pieces that were near her side. Slowly, she slides from under the hood and to the clear space beside the overturned vehicle. Justin grimaces at the crimson trail left behind, but knows she will be safe now. The smoke was growing, and he could spot the faint off color of gas leaking through the snow on his left. Soft orange was starting to appear in front of him. He turns his head towards the red trail that was slowly being covered with snow. His lips softly whisper an apology to his love before his eyes shut in exhaustion.

Up by the road, Alisa struggles to stand and wait for another car to come by. The snow was falling again, and she could barely see the yellow lines that divided the road. Her frozen fingers fish through her pockets, searching for her phone. Once she gets ahold of it, she fumbles with the cracked screen until it unlocks. Her heart cries in relief at the full bars of signal it showed she had. Her fingers are barely able to dial those three numbers, and the voice on the other end nearly makes her shout in joy. She starts telling where they are, and what happened, but before she can finish, the ground shakes from an explosion behind her. Alisa whirls around just as the shockwave hits her and knocks her into the street. Her phone silently falls into the snow, and her screams echo through the night sky. The woman struggles to crawl towards the enflamed leftovers of the wreckage, despite the rotten smell coming from it.

No matter how hard she tries, Alisa can never forget that night. It was over a decade ago, but she can never pull her mind away once this time of year rolls around. Her brunette hair was riddled with greys, despite her age. She had fallen for Justin when they were teens, and it was a love that outlasted college separations and stretched across states. The marriage wasn't large, but it held everyone that they each knew and loved. It was perfect for the perfect couple.

But just like a snowflake, nothing lasts forever.

It was only two years after they finally made their relationship final that the accident took away her only love. She had found it hard to do anything much after that, but she knew he would want her to move on. Without him, it was difficult, but she strived to move on, and she finally knew what she had to do to make it happen. Kneeling in the fresh new snow, Alisa lays a fresh set of blue and white roses before the small wooden cross. She wipes her eyes free of tears. Her lips part, and she sweetly speaks to the ground about how she finally found a place in Texas to move to. He would be so proud of how she was finally fulfilling their dreams of moving back to their home state, but her voice cracks when she finally lets it sink in that she won't be able to come to this spot much anymore. However, a small smile crosses her face. She whispers out how she knows he is still watching over her, and she promises to try to move on and let herself love again, but she also admits that she may never be able to love like she loved him again.

A car honks, and Alisa quickly wipes her face again. She stands and turns, spotting a car slowly passing her parked vehicle on the turn. Her head turns back to the cross, and she lightly kisses her fingers before touching the top of the wood. "I love you, my dear Justin." She then turns and walks away from that fateful spot for the possibly the last time. Once at her car, the woman takes a deep breath, gazing one final time at the crash site. Slipping into the driver's seat, she closes her door and starts the car. Cautiously, she moves the vehicle onto the road, and feels a weight lift the closer she gets to Texas. Justin was always one to be excited for change, and for once in her life, Alisa finally understood why. Sometimes, change is needed to move on, and that's exactly what she was finally allowing herself to do.