Flickering Light
"Open the door! Quick!" Alison cried anxiously.
The moment the gate swung open, she dashed out.
In the distance, a faint light flickered on and off.
The car with the glowing cigarette butt was right in front of her.
Through the window, she could vaguely make out Jack's profile.
She kept running, pushing herself to the limit.
Suddenly, Jack turned his head.
"Jack..." She rushed forward and reached to open his car door.
Her phone clattered loudly onto the road. Her small hand grasped the door handle as she cried out, "Jack, open the door."
Jack's throat trembled slightly. He wasn't sure if he should let her see him in his pitiful state of drug withdrawal.
Finally, the sound of her shouts and pounding on the door brought him back to reality.
I can't let her witness my withdrawal. It would be too cruel.
He raised his arm and whispered to the driver, "Drive."
She noticed the startling red, jagged scars on his arm.
Oh my God, he's self-harming!
No!
Alison spun around and dashed toward the front of the car, startling the driver, who was about to start the engine.
"Reverse! Back out of this street." Jack's command was unyielding.
The car began to back away.
Alison bent down to pick up the phone lying on the ground. The call hadn't ended.
"Stop this car! Please, just stop! Let me see you one last time, Jack. Afterwards, if you want to leave, I won't stop you,” she shouted, her heart on the verge of shattering.
"Give me one month, Alison. After that, I'll come back to you. Wait for me." Jack hung up the phone, his voice laced with finality and pain.
Watching his car disappear, Alison slumped onto the road, gasping for breath.
Her heart was filled with resentment, yet she knew she couldn't chase after him.
She sat there for an unknown amount of time until a dark figure appeared before her. She jerked her head up, startled.
Looking up, she was utterly surprised. "Why are you here?Cassandra?"
Cassandra watched her silently before suddenly asking, "Who...who are you?"
"I'm Alison! Don't you remember me?" Alison wondered.
Cassandra mumbled, "Ali... son..." then shook her head. "I don't know you. You're blocking my way. Move."
She tried to push Alison aside.
"Aidan is waiting for you in his room. Let's go see him together, okay?" Alison hurriedly soothed her.
"Okay, take me to see him quickly. I need to see my good boy." A gentle smile instantly blossomed on Cassandra's face.
Alison quickly rose from the floor, offered her arm to Cassandra, and prepared to return to the ancestral home.
But after just a few steps, Cassandra suddenly pulled away. "Where are you taking me? Aidan's room isn't that way. You're going the wrong way.”
"Which way is it, then?" Alison asked, trying to go along with Cassandra.