A Second In Time
Tony had never really pondered time, what could have happened. He had decided long ago ‘what-if’s’ just gave him wicked migranes.
He really didn’t realize how much a few seconds can change until he was sitting in a dirty hut, getting vengeance for someone that wasn’t going to be around to be thankful for it.
Five seconds after that, he’d never been more grateful for perfect timing.
“Why, are you here?”
“Couldn’t live without you, I guess.”
30 seconds was prelude to an ending.
It was also the prelude to a beginning.
“Of everyone, it had to be you.”
Sitting in a chair, staring at the face of someone he lov- cares about,
(he hasn’t said that word since Kate, Ari, and a too-accurate shot. Brains on the pavement didn’t make for a good day. “Wow. I thought I’d die before I ever heard - “. Or a good year, for that matter.)
Tony realizes he’s always been aware of the difference a little bit of time can make.
He just never appreciated it until bullets through the forehead and pizza in the pouring rain; Tiny closets and mingling breath; or the scent of sandalwood and the sweet song of true happiness.
“Putting their lives in each other’s hands everyday…”
She looks thoughtful as she replies. “Not to mention the long nights.”
His heart is pounding.
“It was inevitable.”
She looks at with the same look that she’ll have over a year later, in a elevator with rage bouncing off the walls. The look that tells all, yet says nothing.
“Nothing is inevitable.”