Meeting for the two
684 Words
Samantha sat with her forehead held in
her hands. Severe depression held heavy
sway over her.
Yesterday hadn’t gone well at all.
Stephen had fled, and for whatever reason
the message of the sermon just wouldn’t
leave her head.It just kept echoing over and over through her mind. It was as if it had been
tailor-made for her. How did preachers
do that?
What a diabolical gift to be sure.
Sighing, she contemplated on the fact
that there were only three more days left
till school began. Things would get
hectic then, but until then she had nothing
but her thoughts to keep her company.
The door of the school house opened
and forcing herself, she managed to
glance up. Completely startled by what
she saw she abruptly straightened and
winced as her chair made a sharp grating
noise on the floor.
******
I viewed her reaction to me with
interest. She looked surprised and was I
right to imagine, even nervous
Yes,nervous.
Her voice sounding more high-
pitched than usual asked, “Hi, uh….
what are you doing here? I mean…..
how can I help you?”
Smiling, I asked, “Which way to the
hole?”
She blinked dazedly and then her
eyes cleared as she said, “Oh, you're
here to fix the bad spot in the floor.”
“Yep.” I said laconically.
“The pastor sent you?” She queried,
as if she found something wrong with the advent of me being here.
“As I live and breathe.” I said by
way of an answer with a gesture to the
whole of me.
Samantha now looked completely
rattled and giving her head a shake she
turned and said, “This way. It’s right
over h….. Ahhh!” She exclaimed loudly
as looking back at me suddenly with
wonderment posing the question of
whether or not she was dreaming she fell through the weak spot in the floor.
The building was constructed up off
the ground and as it was she would’ve
fallen all the way to her thigh, but I had
always been known for my quick
reflexes. With both hands, I gripped a hold of her beneath her armpits with
enough force to bruise her ribs.
Her fall through the floor abruptly
stopped and limply she hung from my
grasp. She turned her head and it was
clear something about me she found to
be overwhelming, at least in this
moment.
The look she was giving me only
built my confidence and dryly
commenting I said, “You really didn’t
have to play show and tell to prove that
some repairs are not in order around here.”
*********
Samantha's Perspective
Samantha looked away, blushing, as he lifted her clear of the hole in the floor, as
if she was but a rag doll in the jaws of a
mighty dog. The power of his hands was
mesmerizing and it had shaken her to the
core at the realization of just how
powerless she was against this man.
Glancing at him, as he let go of her,
she was in time to hear him say, “That
was a joke by the way. Are you okay?”
Embarrassment burning into flames
she nodded as she limped away toward
her desk.
“Oh, I’m fine. Don’t mind me.” She
sat down in her chair in complete
mortification over what a klutz she had
made of herself only to jump startled as
she realized that he had followed her.His face was dead serious now and
for a moment she wondered if he
planned on murder. She drew back as he
kneeled down beside her, which is when
she noticed the little drops of blood on
the floor.
His hands claimed her calf and he
brought her leg forward away from the
chair. Her short dress only to clearly
revealed the long, bloody scrape going
up her shin. How had she not noticed the
injury?
“This needs seeing to. Can’t have a
one legged schoolteacher now can we.”
“Ha ha, aren’t you a funny man.” She
retorted with trying not to let on how the
sight of her own blood freely flowing was affecting her.
- Writer
