Where Fate First Touched
626 Words
As Elena looked out the window, her gaze remained fixed on the young man standing alone at the bus stop.
Even from the moving car, she could see the expression on his face.
Sad.
Disappointed.
Like someone carrying the weight of a long day.
Before she could think further, the car sped past him.
A patch of dirty rainwater sitting on the roadside splashed violently into the air.
The water soaked the young man completely.
Elena gasped in shock.
“What is the problem, ma’am?” the butler asked immediately.
“You just splashed a young man!” Elena said.
“Reverse the car now!”
The butler quickly instructed the driver.
“Reverse the car.”
The driver obeyed without hesitation.
The car slowly backed up to where the young man still stood, wiping dirty water from his clothes.
It was Luca.
Luca stood there dripping, too tired to even feel angry. Tonight had already been humiliating enough.
He was trying to brush off the dirty water when the tinted window of the Maybach slowly rolled down.
Because of the dark interior, Luca struggled to see who was inside. He could only make out a small part of a woman’s shirt and her hand resting near the window.
A gentle voice spoke.
“I am very sorry about that.”
Elena reached into her purse and pulled out some cash.
“Here. Let me pay for your dry cleaning.”
She stretched her hand out of the window with the money.
Luca looked at it, then shook his head politely.
“Oh… you don’t have to worry about that,” he said calmly.
“I am already on my way home. I’ll take care of it.”
Elena frowned slightly.
“Oh, you don’t have to be modest. Just take it.”
Luca was still trying to reject the money when suddenly the butler’s phone rang.
He answered quickly.
Within seconds, his expression changed completely.
His calm face became tense.
He leaned closer to Elena and whispered something to her.
Elena’s eyes widened.
Without another word, she tossed the money toward Luca through the window.
At that exact moment, the driver stepped on the gas.
The car sped away suddenly.
The tires rolled through the same puddle again—
Splash!
Dirty water sprayed all over Luca once more.
This time even worse than before.
Inside the car, they were no longer heading home.
They were rushing toward the hospital instead.
Back at the bus stop, Luca stood there dripping wet.
For a moment he simply stared at the road.
Then his eyes slowly moved to the money scattered on the ground.
Quietly, he knelt down and began picking it up.
Just then, the bus arrived.
The doors opened with a soft mechanical hiss.
Luca climbed aboard and took a seat near the window.
As the bus began moving, his mind drifted back to what had just happened.
The strange woman.
The sudden rush.
The money.
After a moment of silence, he pulled out his phone and made a call.
The manager answered.
“Why’d you call?” the manager asked. “Hope I am not forgetting anything… because I just got home.”
Luca leaned his head back against the seat.
“No, it’s not that,” he replied calmly.
“I just called to let you know…”
He paused briefly.
“I’d do the job. Just let me know when.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the call.
Outside the bus window, the city lights continued passing by.
And somewhere far away, Elena’s car sped through the night toward the hospital.
Neither of them knew it yet.
But the worst nights sometimes begin the most unforgettable stories.
- Writer
