On the corner, just under the dim light of the streetlight, was a man. He was shrouded in shadows and a little unfocused through the heavy rain, but he was there. And he was staring right at me. I leaned forward, trying to get a better look at him.
A car came to a stop at the corner opposite him and turned, exposing him in the headlights. As the light washed over his features, my breath caught in my throat. A moment later, my feet were racing across my floor. I opened the door and thundered down the hallway towards the stairs. I had to get to him. I had to convince myself that I wasn’t crazy. I wasn’t seeing things. Despite all rationality, he was here. Ash was here.
I stumbled down the steps, taking them two at a time until I reached the lobby. I pushed open the front door and stepped barefoot out into the rain. I raced towards the corner as the rain pelted against my skin. My hair matted down to my face, soaking up the rain as I ran.
I stopped abruptly at the crosswalk and found myself staring straight across the road into Ash’s eyes. He was quiet, ummoving as he stood like a statue under the same streetlight.
I pushed my hair away from my face and shivered as I chewed on my lip. I tried to fight a smile. I swear I did. But this was Ash. The simple act of being here made me fall in love with him all over again. It was just the way he was.
A small smirk played on his lips as he pulled his hand from his pocket and offered me a slight wave.
I looked both ways on the street, anxious to get to him. I tapped my foot as a large truck barreled towards us, and waited for it to pass. It flew by and I stepped out onto the street only to find the sidewalk across from me completely empty.
I blinked, thinking that maybe he’d come back. When that didn’t work, I jogged over and looked everywhere for any sign of his presence. Anything.
“Ash!” I screamed, feeling like the subject of a cruel joke. “Ash!”
A car drove by me and splashed me with rain water as it honked wildly. I spun around, grabbing at the ends of my hair to keep myself from going crazy.
I felt like a stranger in my own life. Like I was watching it on the movie screen, yelling at the stupid girl to stop acting like such an idiot.
I missed him all the time, but I’d never had such an intense reaction to that feeling. Smells. Voices. Hallucinations. I tried to convince myself that none of it was real. That my mind was making it all up. But I couldn’t. Something…something in the pit of my chest was telling me it was real. I was determined to find out why.
