a fate meeting : in the elevator

2

TROY:

Who knew that I would be trapped in an elevator, with a pretty young lady today? 

If I did, then I should have... what could I have done differently? 

All I know is that I must keep my cool. Make myself look like I'm the man-of-the-hour and that he can lean on me for support. 

But in all honesty, this situation scares all the shit out of me too. 

We were somewhere between the 10th and 11th floor before the elevator stopped and the earthquake begun to shook the wits out of the two of us. 

Tabitha seems calmer now. She's not shaking or dazed anymore. But she still seems to be a bit worried. I can't really blame her. I'm a bit worried myself. 

It was taking more time than expected for anyone to come and rescue us. The fact that the generators aren't back up yet and that the thought of the elevator's cable wires can snap and make the whole box fall all the way down the basement feels kind of scary even for an adult guy like me. 

We were both deep in thought when the tremors started again. 

"Jesus Christ!" Tabitha exclaimed. 

In a very swift movement I grab her once more and hugged her tight. 

I was glad she was not upset about my actions and I even felt her arms hugged me tighter. 

"Hung on Tabitha, it will stop. Just hung on," I kept whispering her reassurances that I myself doubted. 

Why I kept on grabbing and hugging her was beyond me. For some reason I'm drawn to this girls scent. Like I would put excuses like this just to have the opportunity of hugging her and smelling her scent. 

I want to keep her wrapped in my arms. 

And even if the aftershock of the earthquake stopped, I can't afford myself to let her go. 

And I was so glad she won't let me go either. 

"I'm sorry," Tabitha whispered. Her voice sounded meek and teary. "I know it's childish but I'm really scared," she admitted and was on the verge of tears. 

"There is nothing wrong about being scared," I assured her. "In fact I'm scared myself," I admitted. Great! I'm showing weakness to a cute girl in a perfect scenario where I can act as a hero. It sounds pathetic really. 

She looked up to me with those half-tear-filled eyes. 

I can't help but give her a timid smile. 

Next thing I knew she had her lips on mine. 

"Thanks Troy," she whispered after that short kiss. "I would not know what I'll do if you weren't here with me." 

I'm not really sure how to respond to that. So all I could do was, caress her hair and embrace her tighter. 

We were like that when the lights finally came up. 

We can hear the elevator's motors groaning then the sound of the elevator radio came up too. 

"Anyone trapped in there?" the voice from the radio said. 

Both of us hurriedly got up on our feet and reached for the radio button. 

"Yes! There are two of us in here, please help us," I said. 

"Hang on sir, the rescue team is on their way," advised the guy over the radio. "We tried to run the elevator down a lower level but the cables seem stuck. So we have the rescue team work their way up the 10th floor instead." 

"Thank you," I breathe my gratitude. "Heard that Tabitha? We are safe. Just hang on and wait for the rescue team," I told her. 

She was all teary again but I can see her smile and she walked straight to me and embraced me tight. 

"Yes, we are safe now," she whispered. She was crying but I know she was just as relieved as I was. 

Well, I'm glad that any minute now, we both can stand on solid ground. But there was a part of me, who was sad that I would have to let go of this frail looking creature in my arms. That I would never feel her warm lips on mine again. 

Gee! Since when did I get so melodramatic? 

I guess being trapped in an elevator for 30 minutes can change a man after all. 

We were still hugging when we heard the forceful pushing of the elevator door and the commotion of the rescuers as they assess the situation. 

As much as I would like to keep on holding this girl in my arms, I need to let her go.

***