28 Years Earlier
Lily grunted in the darkness, tears gushing down her cheeks. Sweat dribbled down her back as the small digging shovel slipped from her fingers. She stopped, resting her aching arms and took a deep breath to regain her strength. A slight breeze rustled through the branches, giving her heated cheeks a brief reprieve when it brushed against her moist skin.
She swiped a grubby sleeve across her face before lifting the battery-operated torch from the leaf litter. She swung it over her efforts, inspecting the progress. The torch wobbled in her trembling hand, casting an eerie glow on the forest while her heart thumped with every scurrying noise that sounded nearby.
She carefully positioned the torch against the base of the giant kauri pine tree, the quiet of the dark of night only broken by her heaving breaths. The realisation that her life had changed in an instant struck again, and a sudden bulk of apprehension swept her back, and she collapsed against the rough bark of the ancient tree. The tree’s rough surface poked into her back through her flimsy cotton shirt, but that was the least of her worries. Racking sobs sought escape which she tried to muffle with her still-shaking hand. If the others chanced a late-night cigarette out by the lake, she would need to stay quiet or risk being discovered.
She moved her hand against her flat stomach, where the tiny seed of a new life was forming. In order to make her choice, she’d need to bury all the memories of the past six months first.
It was what she deserved. No good ever came to those who broke the rules. And she had. Dead was one thing, but there was more. Her secret would need to remain as such forever.
Biting her bottom lip, she made a herculean effort to stem the flow of tears and harden up. She would bury this memory amongst the roots of this monolith, leaving it behind and picking up her life from where she’d left off. The pain would never go away. She didn’t expect it to.
So, she kept digging. She was intent on going as deep as she could, working around the timeless roots of the giant tree. When she deemed the hole deep enough, she picked up the small box. Nestled comfortably on her palm, she tightened her hold on the memories it represented one last time.
She was seconds away from pushing it into the depth of the hole and covering it with dirt, leaf litter and branches. Moments away from hiding everything that the past six months represented. But she wanted one last look. One last glimpse of the glittering white sapphire. One final moment to experience the rush of what he’d meant to her the day he’d gifted her this precious promise of his love. She’d almost given it all away.
She fumbled with the small catch before prising open the sturdy plastic box. Grabbing the torch again, she held it over the star-shaped gemstone. Shimmering light glittered in the dark forest, piercing her eyes, opening the floodgates once more. Tears dripped onto its clean, geometric lines, accentuating the hard work he’d done to shape and reset the stone he’d found fossicking with his family.
She slammed the lid shut, her fingers closing around the tiny box, her tears laid to rest on the stone for eternity. Shoving the box into the deep hole, she hastened to shift the dirt back in place before feathering the top with leaf debris. Sitting back, she allowed one final wretched sob to escape before rising on shaky legs and walking away.
Leaving everything behind.