Before After

CHAPTER I

Chapter I

Before

RANDOM people were everywhere in the streets, walking fast as if their lives depended on it. Some were multi-tasking, drinking coffee or reading newspaper as they move their ways, while some were trying to fit themselves in already overly-capacitated public utility vehicles. Every day was a battle. With all the things people were doing, it was as if a daily chase of time that no one wasted some seconds to appreciate the way he was still breathing nor the radiance and heat the sun was providing.

His feet moved in perfect rhythm. He was not walking too fast or too slow. Unlike all the hurrying random people that he could see, he was enjoying his morning walk to school, since it was not so often that he could do so. Glancing at the watch wrapped on his left arm, he saw that he had enough time and he could be at school just before the bells rings so he needed not to exhaust himself from trying to catch time. Anyway, he was not that kind of person who believes that he could catch time. He had always believed that people should always move ahead of time. Because time moves on her own accord. She doesn’t care if she passes by too fast or too slow. If there was something he knew his family’s money couldn’t buy, that was time for sure.

He was a few feet away from the pedestrian lane, and from his point, he could perfectly see that the vehicles were on a stop as the street lights were loud and shouting red. He walked effortlessly but stopped just right in time when the lights flickered yellow, signifying that drivers should make their vehicles ready to go. It was no use to hurry himself to cross the street, because in seconds, vehicles would be flying all over. But not everyone shared that kind of thinking. Few steps away from him was a girl who was too eager to cross the street.

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SHE was panting so much when she reached the stoplight. Stopping for a second, she gasped for the oxygen she badly needed. She felt air fill in her lungs painfully as she struggled to breath in and out. But it wasn’t the air or the exhaustion from running that would kill her, she was sure of that. It was her fear and nervousness. Her reflexes urged her to look back, trying to see if some people were indeed following her. She didn’t know if it was just her paranoia but she felt like there were some guys trailing behind her. She was stepping forward the pedestrian lane as she was checking her back, her body moving on its own accord. From the peripheral vision, she knew that the cars were still held to a stop. She would just need to cross the street and that should only take her seconds if she’d run faster. Whether it was paranoia or not, once she had crossed the street, she’d be okay.

The light changed from yellow to green, and the girl took a step at the very same time vehicles sped away. Beep! Beep!

The driver of the car on the first lane pulled his window down as he yelled profanity at her before speeding his car away. And if it wasn’t for the fast long and strong arms that pulled her away just right in time, she could be dead that very moment.

She was wrapped in a tight protective embrace and her face was buried in that masculine chest. She could hear the loud beating of his heart. Or was it her heart that was beating fast because of nervousness and fear? Now that it sank into her, she realized she became too careless because she was in a hurry. She was too petrified to even breathe, and unknowingly, she was already trembling. She was an inch close to death!

"Are you okay?” He asked in a whisper, his arms still wrapped on the lady’s smaller frame. When he saw her crossing the street mindlessly, instinct took over him. And before he knew it, he was already rescuing her. His heart was beating aloud, still nervous for he thought he would see a limping body falling on the ground.

Slowly, the lady raised her head, her eyes meeting his. Her black orbs were reflection of the fear and confusion she was still feeling, but they were also sparkling with relief. When she finally regained her composure, she gently pulled herself from his hug, straightening the school uniform she was wearing.

“T-Thanks,” she said in a mumbling pitch, her voice shaking as well.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a nervous tone. His voice sounded a pitch higher, and it somehow shocked the girl. He looked at the girl, not even bothering to mask the worry he felt. “Hey, you’re pallid,” he commented, scanning her face. “Do you want some water?”

“No, thank you, it’s fine. I’m okay,” she said, even shaking her head. “But thanks anyway. Thank you so much.”

He just shrugged his shoulders and nodded at the girl. He didn’t argue anymore, though he was still studying her face. She looked really pale and scared. The accident must’ve really startled her. She was breathing heavily, her uniform a bit crumpled for whatever mess she probably had encountered along the way, her knees were obviously shaking and she was sweating so bad.

“Ahm, ahhh…” The girl opened her mouth but the words didn’t come out of her mouth. She looked more conscious as he continued staring at her.

“Here.” He drew his hanky from his pocket and handed it to her.

Startled by the suddenness, the girl just stared at him. He smiled a little. Gently, even, even when he wasn’t normally the smiley type. He held her hand and handed her the hanky.

“Use that. Help yourself.”

“Uh, thank you,” the girl managed to say.

He glanced at the street light when the red light flickered again. “Be careful next time, okay?” And then, he stepped forward, leaving the girl under the traffic light.

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