Stolen and Seduced - Christine Pope Page 0,112

truly earth-shattering?

Lizzie

I wind down the window and let the fresh air wipe the stale city smog from my car. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes briefly and thank the universe that I have not yet been pulled over.

The last month has been crazy—well crazy boring, at least.

When the coronavirus lockdown started, I thought it would be fun to binge on all of the TV shows I had been meaning to watch. And, it had been for a while. However, when you live in a one-bedroom apartment and the only open air you get is on a balcony that is smaller than your bathroom, the novelty of your white-walled cocoon wears off pretty quickly.

Plus, there was no one to share my life with. No boyfriend, no best friend. Hell, not even a cat. And, of all the options, you’d think my mission of becoming a crazy cat lady would be achievable. But, no, I didn’t read the fine print when I rented my apartment and now, I am doomed to live out my days without any fur babies to keep me company. Of course, with the rent due soon and my job having been made redundant since the coronavirus outbreak. Well, a cooped-up apartment might be the least of my problems in a few days’ time.

I try not to think about that current problem. Instead I let my mind wander, to think of other things. Still, it circles back to my problems. It is the main reason why I ditched lockdown and risked getting pulled over by the police. I needed to clear my head, to get some clarity when it came to where my life was headed—other than directly down the toilet.

Even as I try to think of the few good things in my life, the fact that I still have my health and that I own more digital books than I can possibly read in a lifetime. Like I said, there were only a few good things, and I was scraping the bottom of the barrel right now.

At night, I feel so alone that the stars are my only companion after dark. I wonder if there are other lifeforms out there, also looking into the unknown abyss, and wondering if anyone else exists beyond the stars.

Aliens.

I have been single for longer than I care to think. Since the lockdown, it is literally all I have been given the opportunity to think about. It didn’t help that romance books were my favorite since they always seemed to remind the reader that awesome men are out there. Of course, the sort of male that I wanted right now was not even real. This was another downside of quarantine: smutty books.

Even now, as I take in the gorgeous surrounds, my other obsession takes over. I wonder if there is something wrong with me. Maybe it is the terrible way in which humans have treated me that gets me hankering for an extraterrestrial visitation. With the lockdown, I have read more. It has led me to places on the internet that I didn’t think existed. It is both comforting and disturbing that there are so many others out there who have a fascination with aliens—and what it would be like to be probed by them.

I shiver at the thought.

I am jaded and even as I ready to scold myself, I can also feel my insides doing flip-flops at my thoughts.

My collection of alien abduction books has led to a further unreal expectation when it comes to romance. Still, a girl can dream, can’t she? After all, 2020 has been the year of weird shit and the thought of an alien invasion suddenly seems more realistic.

As I pull to a stop at the traffic lights, I check out the breath-taking view. I was only forty minutes from home but the change in scenery is amazing. In the city, the constant color is gray. It represents the buildings, the roads, the uniforms on those still working in the vast array of offices there. It’s as though everyone is miserable on a permanent basis.

Out here, though, there is every shade of green resting peacefully under a blue sky. And, it feels like the world can go on forever with the promise of unlimited discovery.

Yes, I have been cooped up for way too long.

Still, as I shift forward on the road again, I am the only car present and can feel the constant hum inside my head drifting away. The only sound out here is