It Wasn't Until It Was Too Late

Sarah was walking home from work. It was a sunny day and she crossed the street to walk on the sunny side. She opened her jacket as she got warmer. It had been a good day at work. They'd made a lot of progress with the project they were working on and she'd finally gotten the acknowledgement from her boss that she had yearned for since, well, since she started working there a few years back. She was sure they were going to make a great impression at the presentation next week. She smiled and felt the warmth on the sun on her face. She was going to get more freckles because of this day. She loved her freckles. Life was good in that very moment and she decided to go a different route home than usual so she could pick up a couple of chocolate croissants for when her friend was coming over for coffee later. Little victories should be celebrated, she always thought. When she turned the corner and walked down the little shadowy side street she noticed a woman walking the opposite direction, towards her, on the other side of the road. The woman wore a hoodie but her golden hair fell out from under it. The hooded woman looked up for a second and they got eye contact. Suddenly her heart started beating fast. She didn't know why her body was reacting like that but she got the feeling she had seen the woman before. She felt a bit panicky and started walking faster. She kept her head down but could feel the gaze of the other woman resting on her. Who was she? She searched her brain for an answer but couldn't come up with it. Where had she seen her? Think, think, think, she told herself. At a party? At university, maybe? An old colleague? Why had those eyes made her so fearful? Could it be... It couldn't be the woman fr... But before she could finish her thought it was too late.