Not now, tragedy
I was driving along in his car - knees spread around the steering column, bent sharply so as to reach the pedals below - far closer than they should have been, because he is shorter than me and I didn't want to adjust the driver's seat of his car for one short trip. Cloudy blue sky looked on from above, and a wide, urban canyon spanned out between the buildings ahead. It was just after 8 am, and the downtown core of the city was full of life as people scurried along the sidewalks and autos and bicycles glided down black pavement rivers - all with destinations and schedules to maintain.
I saw him there, on the street corner, toes near the curb, waiting for the last of the cars to pass, so he could step out and cross against a red light. He was waiting, but he wasn't watching. He stepped without looking, and walked - momentarily - into the path of my oncoming car. I stopped abruptly, and sat there for a second, in the intersection, shocked by the tragic collision that had almost been. One... two... finally his head turned and he saw me there: young woman, jaw dropped, eyes wide, engulfed in a mass of steel. He was there: alone on the street's surface, beneath the glow of my green light - vulnerable and stupid ... stupified.
He steped back, and again, and again... until he was back safe upon that concrete haven. I blinked. I breathed. My surroundings rematerialized into my consciousness ... and I drove forward ... beneath that still-green light, and past that stranger who came mere feet from making a terrible mistake ... accelerating onward, never to see him again.
I saw him there, on the street corner, toes near the curb, waiting for the last of the cars to pass, so he could step out and cross against a red light. He was waiting, but he wasn't watching. He stepped without looking, and walked - momentarily - into the path of my oncoming car. I stopped abruptly, and sat there for a second, in the intersection, shocked by the tragic collision that had almost been. One... two... finally his head turned and he saw me there: young woman, jaw dropped, eyes wide, engulfed in a mass of steel. He was there: alone on the street's surface, beneath the glow of my green light - vulnerable and stupid ... stupified.
He steped back, and again, and again... until he was back safe upon that concrete haven. I blinked. I breathed. My surroundings rematerialized into my consciousness ... and I drove forward ... beneath that still-green light, and past that stranger who came mere feet from making a terrible mistake ... accelerating onward, never to see him again.