But I knew that looking back on the past would get me nowhere. No matter how much I longed to return, I knew that thinking of the memories would only dredge up my long since buried feelings of regret and shame.

Thinking of it all made me exhausted, and I knew I had to focus on the present now. I still couldn't process the events that had unfolded mere days ago. It'd all happened so fast. One moment everything was normal, the next, everything was just...gone.

It was a blinding flash that took everyone by surprise. So many people had died, though it wasn't known if it was from shock or something else.

No one really knew what it was, and the flash had displaced many people that no one had time to research. Everyone was trying to locate their families or friends. I was one of these people.

I'd looked in nearly every possible location they could be and still found nothing. I only had 3 places left before I planned on giving up entirely. I'd spent day and night searching for them and felt my bones aching and eyelids drooping.

I was trying to stay hopeful but each passing day made it harder and harder.