The sun had left a lingering orb in his vision, temporarily blinding but somewhat relieved once he rubbed his eyes.  A few blinks and it disappeared.  His focus turned toward his hand, to those numbers, and the sound of the city faded away.  He began to hear his heart beat, steady-paced, his blood flow, crawling veins, and this uncomfortable feeling sat in his gut.  A sudden gust of wind rushed past him, breaking that silent anxiety which dampened his perception leaving him to finally notice a thick, black smoke rising from the horizon that lifted the sun. 

Their shadows sketched along 
The contrast lines 
Barely visible 
In that 
Fog. 

His eyes widened. 

That horizon which she had disappeared only moments ago was now a black abyss with scorched shadows.  The buildings were falling forward and the ground began to crumble at his feet.  A step back — turn and run.  The cracks continued to follow with his feet barely keeping lead in the empty streets.  Life had vanished.  He began to smell the smoke, creeping in his panting throat — out came a cough before a deep inhale stopped his steps in those widening lines.  That chasing shroud enveloped him before he fell into the widened abyss. 

 

 

Few steps had broken through the snow outside the café, with their owners following those before, creating a path from the door to the sidewalk before splitting into their own way. 

He sat outside, on a bench nearby, and raised his head as the cold air finally touched his cheeks.  Dazed eyes, a few blinks before coming alive — he barely recognized his surroundings.  He calmly sipped the coffee that was held by his left hand, which gently shook from cold or adrenaline — he couldn’t tell which.  With that warmth flowing down his throat and into his stomach, he sat upright and stretched his back, triggering blood to rush through his body.  Feeling returned.  Standing up, he adjusted his jacket then walked down the sidewalk, past the café with his back to the clear horizon, and followed his leading shadow, stretched ever so far in the distance. 

He returned every morning, day after day, but she was never there.  His description was vague since she was seen only once before that time. 

Memories