Fate is present...

in our everyday lives.

 The horizon wavered in the full heat of the day. Somewhere in the distance the sound of thunder mixed with the ever present cicadas song.
It was so hot that day, the blacktop along the shoulder of the road bubbled.

She felt a strange urge to chase after the bright red car that had just pulled out of the drive.
Tessa watched with her arms folded across her chest, as her mother drove away with a bouncing child in the back seat, out for a day of bonding.

They had planed for a short outing, but who could have known the day would end in such a way that it would change Tessa's life forever...

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"I was going to go with them, but I thought this would be the perfect time to get Sara's birthday gifts."

Tessa stood near the clothing section of the only big retail store their town had, speaking with her aunt.

 A chance meeting was nothing out of the ordinary for any of the people living in the small town of Parish ia.

"Well, I have to get home and cook dinner. See you later." Her aunt said as they parted ways.

 Seeing as her daughters eighth birthday was in just a short week, Tessa was trying her best to find just the right gift for her very special, yet picky child.

It had been quite hard on them after Sara's father had died several years ago in a traffic accident.

 Tessa had dealt with her own inner turmoil, but she felt her child didn't really understand what had happened until recently.

~o0o~

After arriving home, she had barely enough time to stash all the gifts in her closet.

 Within minutes of stepping through her front door there was a knock.

She ran to it fully expecting her child to burst in, flinging herself into her mother’s waiting arms.

Her chest felt as if it had caved in. Breath stilled in her lungs, burning as tears began flowing from pain filled eys.

Two state troopers stood before her, the lights of their cruiser splashing blue across the shadow filled yard.

"Ma'am, there's been an accident."

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Oh my gosh, don't kill me! Sorry everyone but it had to happen for the story to progress.

 Please understand.