A young woman walked along the city street, a hood pulled over her hair to mask from the drizzle that was threatening to turn in to a downpour. She glanced up at the sky before sighing and turning to take the street that led down to the water. Her waterproof boots clomped down on the damp ground as she walked down the slight hill. Water splashed all around as she stepped in the puddles, but she didn't care.
After a few minutes a river came in to view between the buildings. She continued walking to the edge of the water and stepped out onto the bridge that allowed cars and pedestrians to cross over. The river below was white capped from the storm, and splashed up against the legs of the bridge, but nobody was paying attention as they hurried across on their way to work. Except the young woman. She stopped when she got close to the middle of the bridge and looked over the side at the teaming water below, thinking. She rested her arms on the wide railing and repeatedly bumped it with the toe of her boot. She stayed like that for a few minutes, unaware of her surroundings, until a gust of wind came. Her hood flew off, wrenching her attention back to the present. She looked around at the people on the bridge, and blinked against the storm.
Just as she was about to turn around and look back at the water, someone caught her eye. A man was walking towards her along the sidewalk of the bridge. At first all she could make out was a silhouette, but as he got nearer she started to see more. He wore a heavy raincoat, but left the hood down, so his wild brown hair was free to whip around in the wind. He had pale skin and slim face complete with shocking light blue eyes. And he was looking right at her. The man smiled when he saw that she was staring back at him. Her own eyes widened and she could feel her heart beat a bit faster as he drew nearer. It felt as if her thoughts turned fuzzy and she couldn't figure out what else to do besides stand stock still. Finally, when he was just a few feet way she managed a smile, but could feel it was a weak one. His grin grew larger as he glanced at the ground before looking back up at her face. He passed just a foot away. After a few seconds she let out a sigh and realized that she had been holding her breath.
She turned and watched him retreat away from her for a few more seconds before looking back again to the water. The image of him with his back turned to her, walking with a loping pace along the sidewalk with his crazy hair still blowing in the wind, was imprinted on her mind. She tried to shake the stranger out of her head, attempting to steer her attention back to the churning water below. The rain had started to fall a bit harder now, just as she expected. The droplets bounced on the surface of the river, making it even more rough than before. She rubbed her eyes and tried still to not think about the man. After a few moments she gave up and decided that it would be best to simply get off the bridge. Just as she was about to turn back the way she came, she felt a slight tap on her shoulder.
Whirling around, she came face to face with the stranger.
"Hello," he said.
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