There was that woman again, the one he wasn’t staring at. The one who didn’t hold his attention in anyway. She walked past where he was sitting. She was fiddling around with her purse and dropped a couple of coins, she scoffed slightly obviously in no mood to bend down and pick up 8pence. Mika suppressed the urge to run over there and pick up the money and hand it to the damsel as she swooned and thanked him for his help. He decided not to bother and let her walk off. His eyes lingered on the coins she had dropped, he saw something slightly larger. Knitting his brow he walked over to it and picked up a key. It looked like a home key. He looked at it in his hand for a bit before jolting and looking around sharply to see if he could catch a glimpse of the stranger. She was nowhere around so he began to walk in the direction she had walked.
He walked out of the shopping centre knowing full well he was supposed to be meeting Liz any minute. It was getting dark – he squinted trying to make out the woman but failed, he continued walking forwards picking up his pace. His walk led him all around York, he was by the minster at one point a good 15 minutes from the shopping centre where Liz was already sat patiently waiting for him or knowing Liz, not so patiently. He was on the bridge across the Oouse at one point when he finally spotted the damn woman. About a quarter of a mile away walking the path that passed under the bridge. He rolled his eyes and began to jump down the stairs, he was on the path but a long way away, he would soon not be able to see her anymore. He began to sprint – why? He must look like an idiot. But he found himself not caring, all he cared about was getting this key back to a woman he had never spoken to before. He knew he was being crazy – this was confirmed when his ipod jumped out of his pocket and ripped the headphones from his ears and he didn’t stop to pick it up.
He was gaining on the woman. No – she had stopped, she was stood outside a house on the water’s edge. Mika was out of breath but managed to shout.
“Hey!”
The woman turned and saw him, she looked alarmed and he wasn’t surprised. It was almost dark and there was a grown man running full pelt towards her. He reached her doorstep. He opened his mouth to speak but he was too out of breath. She gave he a questioning look, Mika clutched his chest and shook his head. Opening his palm he passed her the key.
“You…dropped…this.”
He turned his back on the woman and began walking down the stairs back to the street.
“Thank you.”
Mika stopped, he had never thought a voice could be beautiful.
“What’s your name?” She asked.
“Mika,”
“Thanks, for half a second I thought I was locked out,” She smiled a pretty smile.
Mika smiled for a second and then coughed violently his throat sore from the running.
“I thought I was going to throw up – then I didn’t,” He said tactlessly.
“A-huh…” said the woman and Mika was 100% he had made her uncomfortable.
“Well see you,” He walked down the stairs and back onto the street. He almost smacked himself in the face, he wanted to jump into the river and never come out. He walked back in the direction he had come – he was an idiot, he usually had a way of charming women but that seemed to have disappeared. He found his Ipod on the floor, it’s screen was cracked. He picked it up and put the headphones back in his ears ready to block out the world once more.
He walked a few more feet and he felt a tug on his arm. He spun around to see the pretty woman. She was now bent double panting.
“I see what you mean about feeling like you’re gonna barf,” She composed herself and stood up. “I have no idea why I just ran after you I guess to say thank you – wait I already said that… I mean.”
Mika pulled his headphones out and was looking at the girl with a slight smirk on his face. She was just as bad as he was.
“What I mean is… my name is Kim.” She held out her hand, Mika took it. She found herself intrigued by this man. She was sure this was the man she had definitely not been staring at whilst she was at work.
They shook hands.
