Prologue

As the narrator I am indisposed as to my bias toward these characters, but as a citizen in this societal frame I am forced to interject. I am now a character in what was to be a narrative. Perhaps at some period in the future these misfortunes will rectify and we may move forward. The guardians of this dank corner of society have arrived and as such I must step aside from my throne and give my leave.

“Freeze!!” shouts Det. O’Leary.

“Help me…please” she cries.

“Sterling go after him, I’ll stay here with the girl! You are going to be okay ma’am, you’re safe now.”

“How…did you…find me”, she gasps through the words.

“I told them. I watched the two of you arguing -- when he grabbed you and forced you around the corner.” A man speaks softly, trying to sooth her demeanor.

She looks toward the man who has just arrived, afraid for the short trauma that had just befallen her, but suddenly wells up with a joy she can’t describe. Tears shine as they run down her bloodied face.  She stops crying and says clearly, in a desperate tone “Thank you, so much…” and she falls back into a hyperventilating state.

Det. O’Leary turns to the newcomer and speaks calmly and plainly, “I am going to need you to come down to the station and give your statement.” At the same time, over the radio there is chatter from O’Leary’s partner, “chhch, perp has hcch please send hchchup, 7th and 32nd.” Only a couple blocks away from where we are.

“What does that mean” the girl stammers excitedly. O’Leary tells her not to worry and asks me not to leave her alone, he will be back shortly. He pulls his sidearm and quickly runs toward the location specified on the radio.

As I stand here, looking over this girl who sits in shambles, I begin to worry about things. This isn’t the first time I have been to New York. I have been to the city a few times before. The first time I was in the area, I ran into some car trouble, which turned into a drug charge.

“hey…”

Just a minor thing with some pot, but the thing is, when it happened I decided to leave the state rather than face the music, so to speak.

“hey…”

Now I have to go to the station, make this statement and …

“HEY!” she yells.

“Wh..What?” I stammer, coming out of my daze.

“Uhmm, well I don’t know what that was about, but I have been trying to get your attention since that detective ran off. I wanted to thank you for calling them. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what would have happened to me.” She speaks as she wipes her tears and forces a small smile.

“Sorry, I couldn’t get them here any sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t intervene. You must think I am a coward. I should have acted, but for my own selfishness I stood by and did nothing”

“Stop, I’m just glad you were here, and if it weren’t for what you did, I may not be here at all, so thank you,” she says speaking softly. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think anymore. How glad I am that there are people like you around. Thinking about it, I don’t remember seeing anyone. Where were you that you saw me?”

I stand here frozen at that last question. What do I say?  Is there some way to explain why she wasn’t able to see me?

“I guess it doesn’t matter, what matters is that you were here when I needed someone to be here.”

She saves me from a response that might have sounded, at best, ludicrous.

“Let’s move, and go somewhere a little more comfortable while we wait for that policeman to get back. We can watch for him from over there, if that’s okay.”

“I’d like that” I escort her toward a nearby restaurant in view of the policemen’s car. I order some finger food and a couple drinks for the two of us while she finds a place to sit near the window. I grab the food I had just ordered and walk toward her by the window. She stops crying and cleans up the blood and tears that hide the beauty that is her. Wearing a skirt and cardigan, she has a lovely demeanor, blond hair and green eyes. Her complexion is pale, but her dimples, a rosy red color, make her glow.

“What?” she asks inquisitively, looking over at me while I stand here staring at her.

“It’s nothing” I say finishing my walk toward the table. I offer her the drink I had ordered for her. She takes it and thanks me with a smile and continues to look out the window. I sit down on the stool across from her, snacking on the food that I had ordered. We sit for a while not talking, and then she says something…. something that surprises me.

“What are you?”

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