by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: March 01, 2010   Last Updated: June 11, 2010

She'd always loved dancing in the rain.

It brought her such joy to feel cool raindrops upon her bronze skin. Her smile used to brighten the greyest day while her emerald eyes made one feel so special. Her raven black hair would hang down in rivers, framing her face and dripping down her shoulders.

It's been a long time since I watched my best friend dance like that, with carefree abandon. Amber hasn't looked so happy since he put a heavy ring on her finger. We all knew it wasn't her taste in jewellery: too many small diamonds on a yellow gold band. It was too gaudy, too ornate for her small hand. But he, whose name I will not mention, thought that this ring was somehow better just because it cost more than the simple ring she'd said she'd liked.

Oh, if only she had known how much that ring would truly cost her!

He put her in chains, not of iron or steel, of course, but of words. He convinced this sweet, vibrant woman that she needed him. He kept her isolated by persuading her to quit her job, which she'd enjoyed, then got her to be a stay-at-home type.

He clipped her wings and wouldn't let her be herself.

Amber insisted it was an accident when she broke her ankle, but we all knew the truth. I worked as a nurse at the hospital, and I saw the bruising. He'd slammed the car door on her leg while she adjusted the seat.

"Amber? If there's anything you want to talk about . . ?" I'd offered.

"What would I need to talk about, Livvie, that you don't already know?" she'd responded with a weak smile.

And that was that. Though I never brought it up again, she knew I was there for her if she needed a shoulder to lean on.

With her ankle broken, she had to rest, keep her foot elevated. A few of us who lived nearby went over to take care of the housework. And to make sure Amber was OK. There was no telling what that fiance of hers might have done if the house wasn't spotless or if she was anything less than his image of perfection.

Just thinking about what her life must have been like in those days still makes me livid!

It was as though he stole the light from her eyes and the song from her heart.

None of us knew him very well, as he was a relatively new addition to our community. He'd come in with a road crew to repave Main Street and some of the more worn side streets. He had seemed like a nice guy when he was still new.

"He seemed so different, George. How could we have known what he was really like?" I lamented to my husband one night a few months ago as we prepared for bed.

"He fooled

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