SS - Chance Encounter

Margot left her job interview and took a deep relieved breath. She was about to start walking away from the building when all her body was stopped by a vision from across the street. Walking on the sidewalk, wearing a grey overall and a hurried step, Simon. Simon in flesh, one year later, there, in front of her, walking down the street like a regular person. Simon amongst millions of other more or less anonymous citizens.

'Simon...' a muffled cry was all Margot managed to produce. Luckily, the street had little traffic or people walking by and he seemed to hear her because he stopped to look over. Five seconds later he had just crossed the street to meet her, whilst Margot had stayed glued to the pavement, mouth semi-ajar and hands shaking.

'Margot...hi!' he said when he came closer. Hearing his voice did even more damage to Margot than the sight of him. Something inside her seemed to loosen up and she had to get a hold of herself so that her legs didn't crumble completely.

'Hi...' was all she could say. Simon looked identical to the one she knew, his hair was a little bit bigger, he was shaved, he had a sweater beneath the overall that she recognised. And yet his presence was almost surreal; every detail of his face seemed to be accentuated because it was so much more defined than in her memory. That live presence right there and then gave him a dimension that she alone could not attain, regardless of how many memories she had of him.

'How are you?' he asked, smiling. Only then did she realise he was smiling.

'I...I'm shocked.' she managed to blurt. He giggled.

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I follow the suggestion of Saoirse Redgrave and used my own characters to write this week's prompt. Chance encounters are the best, aren't they? Read more on Sunday Scribblings.