Her Needle, His Thread

Do You Trust Me?

It had been weeks since I saw that man. I had worked day and night at the cafe, trying to make enough money to even support me through the week. At this point all I was saving from each shift was a few pennies. I felt my hopes shredding as I thought harder and harder about what my future looked like.

"Maria?" I snapped out of my day dreaming and came to realization that I had over filled a coffee cup and it was spilling. I hurried and turned the machine off. Lu started to speak again, "Maybe you should take the day off, Maria." I looked at him and slowly nodded my head.

I had gotten dressed in one of my casual outfits. Nothing fancy, just regular flared jeans and a brown sweater. I had left the cafe and went out just walking past cute shops with antiques. This place was my favorite to visit, every store had locals just chit chatting and walking in stores to browse.

I saw a little girl begging her mom for this orange panda plushie. Her mother seemed to be around 19-25 years old. She tried convincing her child they would get it later but the kid was starting to cry. That little girl reminded me of myself. Always begging my father for things we never needed. I decided to do a small favor for them.

I went inside and talked to the clerk. "How much is that red panda?" I asked, unsure if I should actually spend my money on something I won't even have. "That panda? She's around $15.00." The price seemed too expensive just for a stuff animal. But I decided to get it anyways.

I came outside and saw them leaving the store. I hurried and caught them before leaving. "Excuse me, ma'am?" I said, seeing the lady turn around confused. "Would your little girl like this?" I held up the red panda and the little girls eyes widened. "Mommy! Can I have it please?" The mother looked at me and smiled. "Are you sure?" I handed the little girl the stuff animal. "It's no problem at all." I looked down at the little girl. "Make sure to take good care of her." The little girl smiled up at me. "She is gonna have tea parties with me everyday!" I smiled at the little girls enthusiasm. I looked up at the mother who had $20 in her hand. "Please let me give you this." She said, her eyes persistent. I couldn't take that, I didn't want to. "No no, you keep your money." "Are you sure?" She asked me, the money still in her hand. "Of course, I always wanted stuff animals as a kid. She deserves it." The lady thanked me and they walked off.

Seeing that little girls bright smile just made me feel happy. As a young mother, I knew it could be hard to handle a kid. She reminded me of my father when she pulled out money. My dad always helped other people, never even batted an eye for a reward. So this is how he felt helping other people. I could get use to this feeling.

After another hour of walking around and browsing in stores, it started to rain. At first it was a drizzle, but then it became hard. I made my way under a store with covers above it so I wouldn't get wet. A few other people had stopped and we all stayed there, waiting for the rain to die down.

It had felt like an eternity and the rain seemed to not die down one bit. I really wanted to get home, but it was a 15 minute walk from here. I stepped out into the rain and started walking home. My clothes were a deeper shade now that the rain had stored away in the cloth. I shivered as I walked, my arms wrapped around my shoulders. Everyday had its ups and downs I guess.

As I walked into the rain, drifting off into thought, I felt the rain had stopped pouring onto me. I turned around to see a man with an umbrella. He was holding it above my head and smiling down at me. "You'll get sick walking in this rain." He said, his voice deep and sharp. I stared at him for a while and realized this was the man at the cafe.

We were walking together, almost touching shoulders. We didn't talk for a few minutes, until thunder striked. As the loud boom cut through the rain, I jumped out of surprise. I bumped into the tall man, almost taking both of us down. He grabbed my waist with his free hand, keeping me steady on my feet. "Sorry." I said, embarrassed of my action. "Don't worry, just stay close." He held my waist firm, seeming not to let go anytime soon.

I began to ask a question. "What's your name? You're the man from the cafe right?" He looked down at me, the rain filling his silence. Then he spoke, his voice cutting through the rain. "Names Danny, and you miss?" Danny..his name felt so familiar. "I'm Maria."

After those few words it was silent again. We had finally made it to my street. He remembered where the cafe was, but most of all he remembered I lived there. It felt a little weird how he remembered that. Thinking about so many people I talk to on a daily basis at the cafe, and not even remembering any conversation with them. But him, he remembered that I lived at the cafe.

As we approached the cafe, I stopped walking. Since his hand was on my waist he also stopped. "Thank you for walking me here." I said, smiling at him in a grateful manner. "No problem, you don't want me to walk you inside?" I didn't want to bother him as much to walk me inside. "This is good, I'm very thankful for your help." I bowed my head down in gratitude.

As I began to walk off, I felt him grab my arm and pull me into his chest. My eyes widened and I looked up at him. He wasn't looking at me, he was looking at the cafe. I turned and looked at the cafe, seeing two men in suits standing at the front entrance.

Before I could gather any thoughts on them, Danny pulled me into the ally. "Dan-" "Shh." He cut me off, not even looking at me. He was peaking from the ally at the men. Was he hiding from them? But why drag me into the ally along with him?

"Ok Danny I can't stay here, I have to go inside." I tried leaving but his grip on my wrist was firm. "You can't go inside." His voice was serious, yet he didn't sound threatening but almost scared. Not scared himself, but scared for me. "Maria, do you trust me?" His eyes were now piercing through me. Do I trust him? I just met this guy, who does he think he is?

"I..I don't even know you." I said, concerned and scared what I had gotten into. "Just trust me." This time he was demanding. "I don't trust a man I'm in an ally with." Not even a second later he responded. "If I was going to do something to you I would have done it already. Maria, you have to trust me." He had a good point. We were in an ally, the rain was coming down so hard no one would even hear me if I screamed.

I nodded my head, "Okay, I trust you." And with that, everything changed from there. At the time I never even considered what would happen next. I never considered what would happen to myself.