With tears falling all around the ring she felt her heart twist with pain. She didn’t know who she was without it on her finger, with it her identity had changed from Tina Kennard, single, best friend of Rick Wilkins, to Tina Wilkins, married, wife of Rick Wilkins. This subtle piece of jewelry had taken and given life to her. But who was she now?

……………………………………..

The nurse had been called in to pick up the jewelry and she’d seen Tina in a mini panic attack trying to desperately to get the ring. Once it was placed back into her hand she clutched it and pressed it tightly to her chest, closing her eyes once again trying to push the pain away from her. The nurse asked Tina if she needed anything else and instead of an answer she shook her head no and continued to hold the ring close to her. The nurse wanted to ask her if she was alright but, she’d heard Tina’s story and knew that grief and mourning took people to different places and this was something that she needed to carry her through it.

Tina had sat up all night clutching this ring so tightly in her hand she would’ve sworn it left a permanent mark. Her mind had taken her to places she had long since forgotten. Like how much as a kid she’d wanted kids to play with and along Rick and Alice, like a packaged deal. Through the years they forged their own bond together and even went to all the same schools together, including USC, together. This unit that formed was her life, they were with her when her Aunt died leaving her alone in this world and they were together when Rick finally proposed to Tina. These three beings carried themselves through life together and now she was minus one. The one that she’d grown to know as her better half throughout the years.

The day moved on and it was closer to noon than she realized. The TV was on but she honestly couldn’t remember what is was that she was watching, or rather what was watching her. But through the halls she could see people move across her doorway, back and forth almost the same people she’d seen across the way in the buildings. They all moved about life, not stopping and this continuous movement made Tina feel so insignificant and small by comparison.  Here she was wanting so desperately to remove herself from the seemingly inevitable ebb and flow of life, but this one little creation inside of her was forcing her to go forward. Propelling her to make a change in her life, for the better or worse.

Around two o’clock she picked up her phone and dialed the number she’d  known since college. The voice that spoke on the other end was the same one she’d know anywhere, only now it was sad and laced with this somber tone Tina had never known. That finally broke the last wall, the final one standing before her and this continuous life she was rooted in.  Her voice cracked as she opened her mouth to speak and nothing came out. Alice just listened as the sniffles on the other end tugged at the back of her throat.

“Tina?” she gingerly asked.

“Will you help me?”

TBC……………………………….