Nineteen
Annie stood at the edge of Lake Buttermere, taking in the view. It was an icy morning, sun rays barely showing through the layer of thick clouds. As always, the perfectly still waters reflected the sky and mountains on the other side. She was home. Only it felt different. As if it was just a place of the past she had somehow left behind. She shivered as the wind from the waters ran through her hair. It called her name. Whispered to her that there was more to see, more to discover. It always whispered those words. But she somehow felt like a tree without roots. Why was she so reluctant to go into this house and to the people she had spent her life with? Maybe because her parents had settled, and she secretly despised them for it. They had settled in their marriage. There was no ge
