The Time He Saw Her

The First Time He Saw Her

The first time he saw her, she sat on the beach watching the sunset.

He was walking his mother's dog - a creature he had come to despite - when he just froze mid step.

Maybe it was that she looked so out of place. Marley a silhouette of a girl in a pretty dress sitting in the sand of an abandoned beach was what he saw - but for him it was more than enough.

Because even if he had never been the social type that walked up to strangers, he had tugged on the leash of the monster and walked up to her.

He even sat down next to her. He felt awkward, inwardly begged she wouldn't yell "rape" at the top of her lungs. It was absurd, really. A random guy sitting down silently next to a pretty girl.

What he didn't know, was that it was exactly what she needed.

As the little white poodle began to walk around in circles and finally lay still in the cooling sand, she began talking as tears poured down her face.

"I just needed some air, you know? To get away from everything."