If you run, they will follow you.

I stepped off the platform, inhaling the black smoke that mingled with the cool breeze. Pulling my hat lower, I instantly began walking, ignoring the jostle of crowd. Keeping a steady pace, my eyes darted left and right, searching for a face that had eluded my sight for years. With no luck, I continued walking along the station, hoping to dear God that she would be here. My time here was brief, and the necessity to see her was great. My long faded coat sailed around my legs as my pace quickened.

After walking back and forth for what seemed like an hour, my legs tired, yet I refused to sit. I anxiously scanned faces, as disappointment began to creep into the tiny corners of my mind. I pushed it aside, and with a sigh, I walked towards a bench worn smooth by the countless men who rested there. I instinctively checked my watch and nodded. Not until dark. I closed my eyes to the sunset, and cut off all sound around me. I tried to envision a somewhat familiar face, and my by habit, I pulled out an old photo from my back pocket. It was a worn, faded, picture; Torn and bent in more than one corner. I rubbed the poor piece of paper, as if rubbing it would bring me back to eleven years ago.

The sudden smell of lavender made my knees go weak. The nervousness that I had refused to acknowledge had hit me. I stopped breathing, my stomach making me feel seventeen again. I slowly opened my eyes to see the most beautiful creature on earth. My memory took a turn for the better, and I remembered the adventurous woman I had fallen in love so long ago. Lavender filled my nose, and I eagerly breathed in, hoping to lock the smell in my memory.

I studied her, noting every detail from her hair to her shoes, which were dark brown. They always were. She wore a simple blue and white dress, because I know she refused to wear anything fancier. Her hair was down and tied with a plain blue ribbon. Oh, how I would have liked to run my fingers through her hair, adoring every single golden brown hair on her head. She had the face of an angel. I stared into her chestnut eyes, and I admit, it was only thing I could do. Several minutes passed before she spoke first.

"So you still have that old picture, I see." Her voice was like music from heaven. That same sweet note that used to wake me up in the morning.

"Heh, it's nothing compared to the real thing." I smiled, though I didn't even know I could do that. Smiling was the last thing on my to-do list.

"Nothing ever is." She raised her voice over the noise of the crowd.

"You got that right."

She smiled like a mother smiles down on her child. "You still have that charm around you, David Ryan. I'm wondering if that's the only reason I fell for you in the first place." I heard her, despite the harsh whistling of the trains.

I stared at her again. God, she was beautiful. I regained my dignity, not wanted to play the fool. "And you still have that beauty that any sane man would fall for. You're a fallen angel, Emily."

She blushed slightly and lowered her head. Trains whistled in the distance. She looked up with a sad face. "Let's take a walk."

She led me by the arm down several blocks, into a small park. By then, the sky was on the verge of dark blue. Heh, just the way I like my nights. The cool breeze calmed me down, though my hands were shaking slightly. They usually do when I'm nervous. She helped ease my stress by leaning her head against my shoulder. We said nothing for quite some time as we walked down a narrow trail. My emotions were penning up, suffocating me, and I had to let them go.

"I love you," was the first thing that slipped out of my lips. I meant it. I stared down the road, afraid to look into her eyes and see her reaction. She sighed, and my stomach dropped like weights.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned. I could tell she was avoiding my last statement. I played it safe.

"I came to see you."

"You came to see me, huh? When do you ever come to see me?"

"I know Emily, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…I just, I've realized that I needed you all this time. Emmy…please, just let me have another chance."

"Oh David, things are different. I remember so much about you, but, things can't just fall in place like some fairy tale. I haven't seen you for eleven years. I don't even know if your favorite color is dark blue, or if you're still in love with mashed potatoes." She gave a small chuckle.

I cracked a smile. "They still are if you always wear those simple brown shoes of yours, and sneak out of Sunday afternoons to read a book by the library."

"Hey," she retorted, " reading is a gift to the mind. At least, that's what I tell all my students at the Elementary I work at." My eyes widened as she finished her sentence.

"You mean…"

She looked at me with excitement and a huge grin on her face. "Uh-huh."

"You did it Emmy!? You're finally a school teacher!?" He face bobbed up and down. "Emily I can't believe it! All that studying and you finally because a teacher! I'm so glad for you!"

A couple passing us gave disdainful looks at I cheered. Emily seemed embarrassed and turned a shade of red. I grinned, and gave a sharp look at the couple. They shot us haughty glances and quickly walked by. I chuckled after they passed. Always afraid of those who are different…

We continued down the trail, the sky growing darker by the minute. I wanted to check my watch, but I didn't want her to worry, so I just walked at her pace and brought up a subject that was bound to pop up sometime. "Look, Emmy, I'm back. For good now. I'm sick of running…I have to face them someday and, I'd rather you be there when I do. You don't have to worry about anything, it'll be alright. I love you, and I know things can't be like they once were, so this could be it for us. A break. C'mon Emily, I know I've been gone far too long for you to even think about starting all over, but how about starting where we left off? We need each other, I've learned that."

"David, you make it sound so easy. You know we could never go back, even if we wanted to. Everything's different. When you're gone for eleven years, you can't just walk in and expect things to be okay…"

"Emily, we can make it work. I know I can't pretend it's okay. I just got here! But if we tried, we could do it. C'mon Emmy, just like old times?" When she didn't answer, I nudged her a bit. "Right, Emmy?"

"No David," she cried suddenly, "things can't just be like they used to. I've waited so long… I've moved on! My god David, it's been eleven years! I-I'm married now. Okay? I have two kids, and we might have another one. Don't you see David? I couldn't take it. You've been gone for so long, I couldn't wait that long, no matter how much I loved you. Even if they tried to kill you David, I couldn't take it…"

I stayed silent, cursing myself for believing we could actually pick up where we left off. I knew somehow that we couldn't ever be together. Ever. She had a life, and I was just another problem. But how I loved that women. I stared into her eyes, and time itself seemed to stop. I wrapped my arms around her waist. She gasped, but made no effort to push me away. I brought her lips to mine and everything else disappeared. I held her in my arms like I used to back when we were just kids trying to get by on life. I savored her taste, not wanted this moment to end, and ran my hand through her hair.

She unexpectedly broke off the heated kiss, and placed her hands against my chest. "No David, please," she softly whispered. I pulled her into a hug and we stayed like that, two people, arms wrapped around each other, in the faint moonlight. I sighed, somehow already knowing this was the last time I was ever going to see my precious Emily. As I inhaled the sweet lavender, I was infuriated with the thought of letting her go.

I looked down at her to see tears swimming in her eyes. She shook her head and leaned her forehead against my chest. I nodded slowly, though she couldn't see me. I understood. "I don't want to keep up this fairly tale that's never going to come true."

"Oh, Emmy, I'm so sorry." I stroked her hair. "It was all my fault and we both know it. If only I'd have kept that job, we would've been somewhere in our lives."

"I'm so sorry David…"

"Well then…I guess…I guess this is good-bye then, Emmy."

She looked startled. "What do you mean? You're leaving? David, they're going to kill you! You can't keep running forever."

I had to smile at that. "Besides you, there's nothing to keep me here anymore. I'm moving on, just like you. Staying here wouldn't be best for you. I have to leave on the next train."

She had a grim look on her face as she said, "Alright. I guess this is good-bye then. I hope I never see you again David Ryan." Without another word she ran off, crying and stumbling into the night. I reached out to her and called her name, but I knew what I came here for was already gone. Chasing her would only complicate things even more, and she didn't need me to butt into her life. I told myself that crying wouldn't help, just like I've told myself since the day I turned seventeen. I'm eleven years older and nothing about me has changed.

From the park, I heard a clear sound of the bell whistling, indicating the next train was coming in. I cursed under my breath, took one long last look at the park, and ran quickly to the train station. I hastily bought a ticket, and entered the next train. I didn't know where it was going to, and frankly, I didn't care. Anywhere but here was fine with me. I took an empty seat in the back, and sighed with relief that many people weren't boarding the train. It wasn't crowded, so I had the whole row to myself. After a while, as the train rolled along, I stared out the window and began sobbing helplessly, defying the laws I set down for myself.

I don't know how much time passed, but I finally got myself to quit crying. With tired limbs, and swollen eyes, I closed my eyes, and almost instantly fell asleep.

I awoke to the sound of the "chug chug" of the train. I rubbed my eyes, and yawned sleepily. Suddenly, all the memories of last night flooded my mind, and I leaned my head against my seat. I mindlessly looked around the train, and noticed it a bit crowded. At least they left me alone. I took off my coat and hat, and relaxed a bit, taking my picture out now and then. I looked out the window and thought silently until a worker from the train passed my seat. I eagerly asked him where we were, and I sure as hell wasn't anywhere close to yesterday. He also told me he had noticed me yesterday evening, and that we had made several stops since then. I sighed and thanked him, but before he left, he asked me whether I would like the morning paper.

"Sure, what the hell," I replied bitterly. He walked off and came back with a stack of newspapers. After he left, I sluggishly took the front page from the newspaper stack. I read the headline, and what I saw made my stomach twist. I helplessly rushed off to the bathroom, and vomited until I had nothing left in my stomach. I quickly wiped my eyes, and threw some water on my face. I slowly looked into the cracked mirror of the pathetic bathroom, and stared at myself. "You poor bastard…" I said to myself.

With as much dignity as I could muster, which isn't much, I made my way back to my seat. I sat down slowly and with shaking hands glanced at the paper. In big black letters, the newspaper headline read, "YOUNG WOMAN MUDERED LAST NIGHT IN " I read the article, already knowing what to expect. So they had finally caught her, it was only a matter of time. I sighed deeply, and took a smoke out of my coat pocket. I lit it, and my hands gradually stopped shaking. They had been chasing me all over the country, trying to get at me for leaving that goddamned government. The only family I had was murdered, and it didn't even matter, because I didn't exist—at least in government records. It was only a matter of time until they caught Emily.

And it was my fault.

A station came into view, and I realized we were already heading into town. It was a big one at that. Good. I put my coat on, and fit my hat snuggly on my head. The train came to a stop with a screeching halt. I stood up, leaving the newspaper, and an old photograph. I emotionlessly stepped off the platform, ignoring the jostle of the crowd…

I played around with the dialogue of David and Emily, and I think is came out quite nicely.

PFFT, YEAH RIGHT!!

I desperately wanted this to come out different than it did. I had the basic situation "okay", but deep in my little gut, I feel like I could've done better. But I guess this is as good as it's gonna get. Enjoy kiddies!

And for the record, I'd appreciate tips and hints. Criticism isn't always welcome, but it's a good start to a hopefully successful writing career. Did I mention how old I was?

-scene