Spontaneity (Jiskastya X Leiley)

[Jiskastya]

The alley was dark, even in the bright, clean, light of the late afternoon. The tall buildings on both sides shaded all but the highest reaches of the walls, giving the alley an eternal twilight. The man crumpled against the wall opened his eyes slowly, casting cautious glances in both directions. But he was perfectly alone, the only echo of life the rumble of traffic a few blocks away.

It took him several moments to finally sit up, placing delicate fingers on the rough concrete to lever himself fully up. The pool of mostly dried blood that surrounded him stirred slightly, and a small stream separated from the main pool, moving slowly along the low portions of the alley to slip into a small drain. His bright grey eyes tracked its slow course, perfectly calm, seeming to be little more than fascinated by his own blood. But soon hesitant fingers were probing his chest and abdomen, exploring the many rips in his tattered and bloodstained shirt. When they had finished their exploration, they rose to his face, tracing lightly over lips and eyes. Most of his face was sticky, but, as on his chest, there was no damage.

A small sigh slipped from between his lips, not frustrated, nor relieved, simply an exhalation of breath that reminded one that they could still breathe.

The alley had darkened by a few more shades before the man stood, pushing a strand of brown-black hair away from his eyes, trying to ignore the blood that covered it. The blood would wash out as soon as he got home. He took a few careful steps, testing the firmness of his legs, before setting off down the alley towards the street in the distance. He didn't glance back at the pool of blood as he walked away. It would be found a couple of hours later by anxious locals who would call the police, but he would be long gone before that time came.

Lifting a hand to shade his eyes from the rays of sunlight that finally touched him, and avoiding the curious glances of a couple of passers-by, he set off, long legged stride quickly covering the few blocks separating him from home.

[Leiley]

Just another ordinary day, but that was what Alexa strived for. The reassuring comfort that could only be found in the rut that was a mind numbing daily routine. Everyday played out the same, and every day Alexa enjoyed it. There was a sense of security to be found in the familiar, and this young woman was in no hurry to shake off her security blanket. Especially since..well she didn't like to think about what had happened that day. Ignorance was bliss afterall.

So, it was just like any other Monday morning. Lexi was fighting her way through the army of city slickers that dotted the subway platform like tiny ants. As she walked, her laptop bag hit her thigh repeatedly as she dodged the crowds, heading for the office building that she fondly called 'work.'

With her blonde curls pulled up into a high ponytail, and a pair of chunky framed purple glasses framing her pretty features, the reserved insurance broker slipped her way into the coffee shop that she frequented daily. In her opinion, they did the best hazelnut and vanilla latte in the city; but considering that she never tried anywhere different, that opinion didn't count for very much.

The line was long, as it always was but Alexa enjoyed the wait. It forced her to slow down, to think about her surroundings. Her dark green eyes stared idly out of the window at the city before her. It all looked the same as it did every morning and it was that fact that caused a contented sigh to escape the young woman's lips.

"Perfect."

[Jiskastya]

John's day started slow. He woke, showered and got dressed, taking the time to make a full breakfast. He dug into the plate with enthusiasm, enjoying a creamy dish of eggs and potatoes, before sliding the plate into the dishwasher and stepping out onto the balcony of his apartment. His top-story room provided for a view of a good portion of the city, and, hands wrapped loosely around the cold metal railing, John stood, simply forgetting to pay attention to the time, as he watched the enlivened city pass below him.

A flock of pigeons flew before the balcony, two even pausing to land on the railing next to the still man. He watched them with a fond eye, content to let them share this morning with him. Cars raced by below, a seemingly endless river of traffic and gleaming chrome reflecting in the bright morning sun. People passed by as well, slower than the cars, but resolute in their determination to get to their destination for the morning. A small smile crept its way across John's lips as he watched their rapid pace, every person desperately trying not to make eye contact with the thousands of strangers that they passed. He slipped back inside the house, disturbing the two pigeons who had earlier settled in to preen. They fluttered away in an anxious swirl of feathers, small brains wondering where the movement had come from so suddenly.

He laughed softly as he watched them flutter away. He had always longed to be able to fly like that, simply lift your wings and go wherever you pleased, just because you wanted to. Humankind had done its best to get as close as possible, but, for now, there was nothing that could give a person true flight.

He glanced briefly at the jacket hanging on the hook next to his front door, then passed it by with a mental shrug. It was a nice enough day that the coat shouldn't be necessary. And so John entered into the tide of people, becoming one more in the collective workforce that scampered to and from destinations. But people parted around this one man, for he moved with a slow stride, perhaps the only person in the city who wasn't in a hurry to be somewhere. After all, he had all the time in the world. He had no destination in mind, but rather walked to see the world and the people within it.

[Leiley]

Sometimes, Lexi couldn't help but wish that the city was slightly less crowded. A house that sat in the middle of nowhere would be absolutely perfect. Once she reached the counter, she ordered a hazelnut latte with skinny cream before making her way back outside. Sipping the warm liquid, she let out a happy sigh. She did love her coffee, perhaps a little too much at times. Exhaling deeply, the insurance broker gathered her thoughts as she made her way towards the office once again.

The blonde was absent mindedly making her way to work, when the sight of somebody familiar caused her to startle. Blinking, she shook her head. "Must just be sleep deprivation.." Lexi perked her eyebrow, looking at her feet. It can't be him..can it? No, of course it's not. It's just a trick of an over stretched mind. Her gaze narrowed as she focused on him, "It is..it is him." A couple of people heard the young woman muttering to herself and gave her a wide birth, assuming that she was having some kind of psychological episode. Checking to make sure that there was no traffic, she stepped out into the road, crossing quicker to get a closer look. "This is some weird kind of karma."

As she made her way through the crowd, trying to get closer to where he was walking a little way off. For once in her life she wasn't really worried about being punctual for work, she wanted to reassure herself that she wasn't going crazy.

[Jiskastya]

John spotted her as soon as she stepped out into the street, blonde hair bouncing, her eyes locked on him. In all honesty, of the hundreds of thousands of people in this city, what was the chance that he would see her again? Or perhaps, what was the chance that she would see him, and recognize him enough to need to come check it out?

His first instinct after that evening had been to pack up some essential items, rent out the house through a company, and leave. Get out of the city, out of the state, perhaps even out of the whole country. But he hadn't been ready to leave this town yet, not since he had only been there for a year and a half, and he knew that there was still so much in this city left to see.

Like on young woman in an alley, desperately needing his help.

He had stayed, because he had let himself believe that there was no reason for them to ever see each other again. And now here she came, jogging across the street to catch up to the fleeting image of a man she had seen one day in a dark alley. A man she had seen die.

He had a plain enough face, he could probably convince her that she had seen someone else. Her rational brain would want to believe that answer, wouldn't be willing to accept that there was someone in the world who could come back from the dead. John's rational brain told him that would be the right thing to do, that nothing good could come from her knowing, and accepting, the truth. At the least, he would have to leave the town. At the worst...

But his feet did not increase their pace to see if he could somehow avoid her. His eyes did not track her steady progression closer, and his heart rebelled at the thought of having to go on like he was now, alone and simply waiting to move on. Afraid of making friends, of becoming settled, because he knew that he would have to leave, would have to say goodbye to those he grew close to. That was the way it always worked. He always had to say goodbye eventually. He had thought himself over that pain, over the need to say goodbye, but he knew he wasn't. Knew he never would be. It was still a loss, and as soon as that loss no longer hurt, he would no longer care about life.

If he let her catch up to him, if he didn't then convince her that she was simply imagining things, it would only lead to another painful goodbye.

But he was tired of being alone. His eyes locked onto hers, and he offered a small, sad smile.

[Leiley]

Lexi emerald green eyes scanned the man in front of her. He was certainly looking healthier then when she last saw him..Healthier was actually a slight understatement, but semantics were irrelevant. Tilting her head to the side, she nodded to herself. "Yep, I am definitely not going mad. It is actually you." Breathing a long sigh of relief, she took a big swig from her latte before narrowing her gaze in his direction. "I'm Alexa...we didn't get much chance for introductions the last time we met." Her tone was light, having already decided that she didn't want to probe into the details of how he managed the miraculous reinvention, she just wanted to ascertain that she wasn't crazy; and it was of course no coincidence that he was actually rather good looking in the daylight.

As her eyes darted down to her watch, she frowned. Late..late for the first time in..now, how long was it? Well, she'd never been late for anything. The very thought of not being punctual made her feel uncomfortable. Lateness had a knock on effect for the entire day, which meant you spent the entire day playingi catch up. You couldn't plan when you were playing catch up, and if you couldn't plan you couldn't be prepared for everything that might get thrown at you. Not being prepared was bad..at least it was for Lexi. Infact, it was possibly the worst thing imaginable. She wasn't one for surprises.

Noticing the awkward silence that had now developed between the pair, she bit her bottom lip and before she could stop herself she'd opened her mouth to say the words that she was studiously trying to avoid at all costs.

"Have you had breakfast? I'm starving.."

[Jiskastya]

He watched her studying him with a half smile playing on his lips, still silently wondering whether or not he had made the right choice. But it didn't matter now, he was committed. He would simply have to wait and see what came to pass.

"John," he offered with a small nod, eyes still trained on her. So, her name was Alexa. This is the person he had saved, and whom he now had allowed closer to the very core of his being than anyone else had been in a very long time. He remembered her as he had seen her in the alley, face tear streaked and twisted in pain and shock. He had felt no doubts then, that had been easy. He hadn't been expected to talk to her, to come to know her. How was it that it was easier to save someone's life than it would be to simply talk to them, with no worry about the future, about the need to survive.

He had already eaten, but that was entirely beside the point. She was trying to find a common ground, a way for them to spend a little bit of time together. And he was committed, so it didn't take him long to agree. "Where do you want to go?"