This story, plus the following chapters, is interwoven with a little bit of truth, fantasy, and fiction. Stories are what you make of them ... the more realistic, the better.
As always, all comments and suggestions are appreciated. All characters are of legal age and any similarity to ages, names, and/or locations are purely coincidental.
I decided to revisit this portion of the story. As my writing developed I realized how much work it truly needed. I hope you enjoy the updated version!
Prequel to "An Unexpected Journey"
Before I begin my story, let me tell you a little about myself. I'm 35 years old, 6'2" and 195 pounds. I still stay in good shape being in the military and have been divorced for almost 10 years. Currently I'm on a deployment in the Middle East and have been here for a few months. The sole source of entertainment when I'm not working 14+ hour days is working out and spending what little relaxation time I have on my iPad or laptop, which was what I was presently doing. I had decided to check my social media networks before I headed off to sleep with Facebook being the least interesting.
An unexpected update from my niece's page actually piqued my interest. Thinking back I realized I had last seen her years ago when she was in those awkward years ... leaving her early teens and heading towards adult independence. I always knew in the back of my head she was going to be a little wild child when she grew up, taking after her mother seemingly in every way. The present picture I was looking at only confirmed my earlier thoughts; apparently she was celebrating her 18th birthday with a raucous bunch of friends. I laughed to myself. Apparently she's celebrating in style, and being an Aquarius, she liked being the center of attention.
Amused I clicked her page and began browsing through her pictures, wondering why I never bothered to see just what she had been up to ever since I came into the military. Curiosity got the best of me and I began looking at the different picture folders; birthday party, trip folders, and others appeared. Seeing a folder labeled "profile pictures", I clicked on it.