Stella’s Escape

By Susan Gale Wickes

Stella closed the curtains and locked the door. She had to make sure they weren’t following her again.

She reached into the small pocket of her handbag and took out her cell phone. Better turn it off, she thought. It was the only way to cut off all ties with the world. She needed this escape. Her very life and fading sanity depended on the choices she made at this very moment. “Don’t blow it, Stella,” she softly whispered. “Breathe, just breathe.”

There was a small knock on the bedroom door. “Mommy, are you in there?”

Ah, the joys of motherhood…