Falling

All it took was one wrong step. Pods had fallen from the trees and covered the park's pathways. He had managed to avoid all of them except, of course, for this one. A trip, a stumble, and a fall. He hit the pavement before having a chance to react and scuffed up his left forearm in the process. Dazed, he turned over and stared up into the heavens. His whole perspective had changed from vertical to horizontal and the only thing up ahead now was the sky, bright and blue.

Turning his head to the left and to the right, he scanned the park to see if anyone had noticed. He imagined people pointing and laughing after seeing him take a nose dive into the sidewalk. With the coast clear, he wiped the tears of pain and embarrassment from his eyes. Pulling his hands away, he was surprised to find a face hovering over his own. "Hey," she said, "can I join you?" Before he could respond, she laid down next to him, resting her head on his right arm. "It's beautiful out here. A real nice day, don't you think? My name's Nicole, by the way. What's yours?"

"Um, Damon?" He didn't mean it to sound like a question. He definitely knew his own name, but between the fall and the lovely girl now laying beside him, Damon was at a loss for words. Looking at Nicole as she stared up at the sky, she was absolutely adorable as she pointed high into the blue and marveled at the shapes in the clouds. Just like that, all of the hurt and shame he felt about his fall dissolved into the air and blew away with the breeze.

Without warning, Nicole stood up and tugged at Damon's hand. "C'mon, let's go home." With a sigh, he stood up and dusted himself off. Grabbing her hand, Damon looked at her and smiled. "You're the best, you know that? Seriously, I'm so glad you're here." "Always!" she said with a smile. She kissed his cheek, something they'd got in the habit of doing years ago, and pulled him by the hand. "Now let's go get you cleaned up."