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"In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance - when you least expect it - sets you on a course that you never planned, into a future you never imagined." ~ Nicholas Sparks

M A R C O

The last time I held my breath for this long, Ralph was teaching me how to evade the waterboarding torture method. It was an exquisite torture plan by pouring water over a cloth covering the face and lets you experience the sensation of drowning.

There were times when I had managed to hold my breath longer than usual. But there were occasions when I faltered, and the water would plunge straight into my lungs, burning up.

It was an indescribable agony I had endured so far. No amount of bleeding wounds, broken bones, or dislocated shoulder equaled to the pain of burning lungs and lack of oxygen in the system.

But when I saw Aurora, walking into the cage with panic-stricken eyes, sweat-sheened skin, and shaky legs, it surpassed every other suffering I had experienced before.

Every time her eyes sought