happenstance

She stumbles.

Trips.

Falls.

Her delicate face connects with the ground faster than her hands.

Her blood stains the curb, stains the street.

He watches only for a second.

And then he runs.

She tries to push herself up, but to no avail.

Her limbs are failing her.

His are not.

"Shh now, here, hold my hand," his voice whispers into her ear.

She shivers, cold and alive.

His arm is supporting her back, his hand held out to her.

Her small one fits into his.

She is lifted, wincing, from the floor.

She sits.

His gentle grasp does not cease.

His face fades out of her view for a moment only to hazily swim back in.

She lifts a hand to her eyes but cannot see.

The world is red.

Her vision stained by a happenstance of her own bad luck.

He rummages in his pocket, a faint dischordant noise to her ears.

His hand returns not to hers, but to her face.

She feels his fingers gently touch her and yet she cannot see them.

He is tender with her.

She had not known what it felt like to be cared for before now.

He finds another tissue, the first stained with her blood.

He continues to clean her face, trying not to cause her pain.

Her consciousness fades.

So does his voice in her ears.

"Miss, Miss, can you hear me?"

Those syllables fade out, the darkness encroaching on her eyes.

She feels weak and yet his support is strong.

- - -

"Miss," he says, louder this time.

Her eyes blink open.

The red has gone, replaced by a blinding white.

"Miss, please, how do you feel?" he asked, still oblivious to her name.

"I - I -," and again she is gone.

- - -

"Amity, Amity please, love, you took a fall, you're going to be fine now,"

This voice she recognised.

The sound of the words coming from her last lover's lips.

She felt a hand on her head, stroking her hair.

She knew it was his, and yet she didn't want to know.

"Evan?" she asked, not wanting to see, only wanting to hear.

To hear his perfect voice without seeing the emotion in his eyes.

She had left him only this morning and she couldn't confront the pain.