by Max White

Created on: April 28, 2008

It was a day just like any other. It started with the music from the alarm clock startling me out of my sleep. I slap the snooze button a few times and then roll out of bed. I drag myself downstairs to start the day with ten miles on the stationary bike. The heart is beating faster but the brain hasn't really started yet. A shower and some caffeine should help.

My trip to work is long and tedious. First, my car drives as if on autopilot to the commuter station, a train ride into the city and a walk along the streets of New York to my office on 24th floor. Some days, I like the trip as it gives me time to relax, read, or prepare for my day. Other days, it seems like I can't continue for another moment but I know I won't change a thing. I can't really bring myself to give up the job in the city and the excitement that it brings to my life.

On this particular day, the trip has taken even longer due to a train delay. I'm anxious to get to work as I've got an early morning meeting and some last minute preparations that I need to finish. The arrival at the train station finds me pushing my way through the crowd, showing my impatience and not being very pleasant to those around me. My thoughts are already working on the project and not paying attention to the people or things around me. As I rush down the street, I decide that I don't need to wait for the proper crosswalk. Who in NY does anyway? I begin to cross the street when suddenly I'm yanked backward by the strap on my laptop case. My first thought is to start swinging. How dare someone try to take my precious laptop. That thought is quickly replaced by the reality of a car blowing by me, missing me only by inches. My legs turn to quivering masses of jelly as I realize what a close call that was. I turn to thank my savior and look into the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen. Now it's more than just my legs that feel like jelly. I quickly recover and thank the stranger for saving me from the speeding car. He brushes off the thanks as if it's something that he does on a regular basis, suggests that I might want to pay closer attention and then he is gone. The project is now the furthest thing from my mind as I finish my walk to work.

The day passes in a blur. My thoughts are scattered and I'm distracted more than I've ever been in my life. Who was that man and where did he come from? Was it fate that brought him to stand behind me and save me from an accident? If only I had gotten his name or business card.

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