The crunch crunch crunch of footsteps on gravel combined with the gurgling of the creek she was walking along brought Alyssa to the present when moments earlier her mind had been whirling with work issues and tasks needing attention. The calming noises of the gently moving water helped not only to call her back to the present but to relax her as well. Yes, this is why I like walking at this park, she thought to herself, for these short moments of zen.
Her workday routine of a lunchtime walk was just what she needed to not only stretch her legs but to decompress from the day thus far. It had taken longer today than most, but after suspecting her lunch hour was nearly over she felt refreshed and ready enough to get back to work for the day. As she neared the bridge that led from the walking path to the parking lot, Alyssa noticed she had company. Two men were on the other side of the bridge blocking her exit. They were rough, unkempt looking men that seemed to be enjoying what appeared to be beer or some sort of alcoholic beverage for their lunchtime meal. Although she could not make out what they were saying they were loud and seemed up to no good. Casting a look around, Alyssa noticed that they were the only three people at the park. Alyssa kept on walking and decided to do another loop around the park. She needed the time to gather her thoughts and formulate a plan as the first thing she thought about was that she did not have her cell phone with her. This was something she usually secretly relished, leaving her cell phone at home and having a complete disconnect from technology. There was freedom in getting away from it for a while. She was also wearing leggings and didn't have pockets so she appreciated the convenience of not having to carry it with her as she walked. She only had her keychain with her car keys on it wrapped as a bracelet around her wrist. Alyssa now no longer enjoyed having her freedom and wished she had her phone with her to provide a bit of security if needed. There was no one around and the park was secluded. If she needed help she wondered if anyone would be able to hear a cry for help. She had watched plenty of Dateline and 20/20 and had an interest in true crime. She was now very much on edge. Gone now was any of the peace of mind and relaxation the walk had previously given her. Instead warnings of possible danger were going off in her mind.
Deciding that she was most likely only being paranoid, after all, she did tend to be anxious, she put her car keys in her hand pointed outward and decided that the best approach was a swift and speedy exit. After all, she did have somewhere to be, back to work. With that as her focus, Alyssa approached the bridge doing her best to ignore the disorderly men.
"Hey honey, looks like you're our only company." One of the men drunkenly leered the closer she got. She sped up and did not make eye contact. As she went to pass both the men the second man stepped directly in front of her, blocking her path. "Why don't you join us?" He suggested and went to grab her arm. As his hands brushed her arm, she dodged between the two men and took off at a jog for her car. Thankfully, it was mere feet away. She quickly unlocked her car, started the engine, and backed out of the parking spot without bothering to check behind her. She sped out of the parking lot, her heart hammering out of her chest, shaken by the encounter.
As she lived only a few short miles from the park she made it home in what felt like a blink of an eye. She had parked her car in the driveway before realizing that hers was not the only car there. Her husband's car was also parked there. Her heart rate sped up once more as she could not think of any innocent reason for him being at home at this hour as he did not work close enough to home to stop by. All the worst possible scenarios of something being very very wrong raced through Alyssa's head and she braced herself for life altering bad news as she went to open the front door.
As Alyssa's mind is racing through all the possibilities of bad news she is about to receive from her husband, James is going through his own worries and concerns about the whereabouts of his missing wife.
James had arrived home ten minutes earlier looking forward to spending an unanticipated free afternoon at home relaxing with the company of his working from home wife. The main computer system used at his work had been down all day and with no signs of it being fixed that afternoon, his manager had decided to give everyone the rest of the day off. He had tried calling his wife on his way home to share the good news but she had not answered his call. James figured that she was just in a meeting or on a call and that he would deliver the news in person.
When he got home and realized that Alyssa had not returned from her walk yet he tried calling her once more. James had assumed she would be back from her walk as she was very routine in taking her lunch at noon each day. He heard a buzzing and saw that Alyssa's cell phone was on top of a notebook on her desk in her office. He became concerned and realized he must have missed the fact that her car wasn't parked in the driveway either.
She must still be on her walk, he thought to himself, while feeling uneasy that she didn't have her cell phone with her. On the occasions that she decided to take a walk by herself through the neighborhood he always made sure she took her cell phone with her should she need anything. That little safety measure had provided peace of mind. He wished that he currently felt that way. They lived in a beautiful small town with many parks and walking trails that Alyssa frequented daily but with no rhyme nor reason to which one she went to each day. As it was nearly 2 pm he figured she would be home any minute. If she wasn't home in the next ten minutes he'd go out looking for her, he decided.
