"An Affair" is a three-part series where I attempt my hand at short story writing. Thanks for reading! 

It is eleven in the evening. The moon hangs fully visible in the summer sky. It is so bright that the work of street lights is deemed futile. There is a coolness to the air. It offers much-needed relief from the pain of July heat. On the outskirts of Oklahoma City, there is a young woman seeking relief. 

She stands within the confines of the window. The room in which she stands is her childhood bedroom. The lights have been silenced for hours but she can't seem to find the same permission for her mind. The wooden windowpane divides her into four ill-distributed pieces. As an act of bravery mixed with quiet desperation, she stands in her window naked and afraid. She isn't afraid of who might see. She is terrified of what she might do next. 

She longs to break free from this life. When her husband fled for a life overseas, she didn't think the distance between them would be so challenging. Yet, the heartbreak persists and absence isn't doing anything for her fondness. Instead, it is creating a wedge that may never be repaired. Her mind can't help but wonder. It flashes with the faces of every person who could have loved her more. Marriage is funny like that. It closes doors on regret or at least its supposed to keep one from the fear of greener grasses. 

Her drifting mind hasn't always been this way. As time and distance grew, his stings began to grow sharper. All she longs for is a day when they torture her no more. 2,000 miles away and he still has a way of bruising her. Someone once said the tongue is like a double edged sword. Her heart is more than proof. 

These moments of doubt will soon grow into excitement and extasy. Soon, she will be in the arms of another. He has a story to tell. People like this are like strangers crashing their cars into one another on a twisting country road. Some of the things that are meant to occur do happen by accident. 

Be good to each other, 

-Nathan