The Marvelous Thoughts of Indiana Sharp

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Indiana, whose chapped lips pursed against the cold September wind, loved walking down Mulberry Avenue. She wasn't sure if it was the quiet rumbling of cars passing by or the simplistic recycling of picket-fence houses, but there was something soothing and relaxing about the blossoms shading her head and the warm pavement below her bare feet. She held her sandals in her hands and let her feet graze against the rough ground.

Indiana Sharp was enigmatic and eccentric. She didn't follow the flow, the plan society set out for her. Not once had she ever worn a pair of jeans, or anything other than dresses for that matter. She almost always wore her thick gingery blonde hair down and red lipstick that popped out against her freckled pale skin. She was petite and fragile, like a doll, but that didn't stop her from speaking her mind when it came to things.

She liked to walk barefoot on Mulberry Avenue, that way she could feel the rumbling of the earth as the train tracks trembled under the incoming sensation of a cargo hold. That day, Jude noticed her bare feet against the wet pavement.

Jude McAllister hated Mulberry Avenue. It was always too quiet, too unpredictable. You could never tell when a train would go past until you felt it speed by in a whirl of temporary distortion. He hated how every house looked the same minus the color changing from structure to structure. The only thing he appreciated was the alone time Mulberry Avenue allowed him to have.

He watched Indiana for a second, how her hands fluttered out by her sides like she was trying to keep balance, her olive green canvas backpack low on her spine and her head tilted towards the ground. Jude thought she looked like a child, patient and careful but giddy all the same.

That day, Indiana was completely unaware of her surroundings, only focusing on getting home before her father did. It was her mother's birthday. Knowing this, Indie knew her father would be popping open a bottle of wine before the sun even disappeared behind the blue grey clouds. It was no secret that Indiana's father was a troubled drunk.

Unaware and unfocused, Indiana did not see the motorcycle speeding towards her when she stepped off of the smooth sidewalk and onto the shaking ground. However, Jude did. He rushed forward, feeling nothing as he sprinted forward and pulled the small girl back onto the pavement, his heart beating hard underneath his skin as he wrapped his arms around her bony waist. He let go of her and watched her turn around to face him.

It was silent again in a very Mulberry Avenue-esque way. But it was different this time as he was face to face with the girl whose life he just saved. He should have said something, but she beat him to it.

"Why?" she mused, her lips turned up into a tooth-covered smile. She had wild eyes, Jude decided. They were dark and ominous, demanding attention even in the most crowded places. They were the kind of eyes that haunted someone's dreams and made them wonder. He liked them.

Frowning, Jude decided to open his mouth to reply, "Why what?" He asked.

"Why did you decide to save me?"

Jude was taken aback by the question. Not because it was out of the box or personal, but because he didn't know why. It was an impulse. It was an impulse to pull her back, to wrap his arms around the stranger and pull her off the street before the motorcycle broke her fragile bones.

"Because it was the right thing to do," he finally decided to say. Humming, Indiana continued walking along side of the boy whose name she still didn't know.

A few minutes passed quietly and comfortingly before Indie cut it with a knife to take Jude by surprise once more. "Would you mind if I asked what you're thinking about?"