Sk8 the World

One - Fateful Fall

Miwa got the call she was dreading. While she was away at school, something had happened to her father and he passed away. Her mother called her and told her that she and Miwa's brother were moving to Okinawa too. She didn't mind it, but she was really busy. She not only had schooling, but she was also working three part time jobs. She'd completely forgotten that her mother wanted her over for dinner. A somewhat complete family dinner. It would be her first time having a dinner with her family in nearly three years. She'd been in Japan since she graduated high school at nineteen, four years ago. She managed to get time off that first year to visit her family in Canada, but it was just too expensive and too long of a flight to keep going back only a few days at a time. She got out of school and hopped into her skateboard. It was new, so she was still getting used to it. As she was going down the street, she was only thinking about how angry her mother would be at her being late for dinner. She seemed to always be running late these days. As she was speeding down the street, she didn't notice the fair sized pebble in her path. She couldn't slow down. Her board flew in one direction while she flew in another.

A man working in a near by store cam running out to her aid. She was sitting down in the road dazed. He rushed to her side. "Ma'am, are you alright? That was a hard spill."

She laughed nervously, not looking at the man yet. "Yeah. Is the skateboard okay? I just got it."

"Let's worry about that after. You're bleeding. Please, come inside. Let me help you. Can you stand on your own?"

Miwa forced herself up. She still hadn't looked at her rescuer's face yet. She was far too shocked at how hard she hit the ground. Miwa felt as though she was a goner when he feet left the board. She felt the blood running down her palms and knees. She'd tumbled a few times before ending on her butt. Her jeans had gotten all ripped up and so did her shirt. The man carefully set her down and closed the store. The sun was setting as he got the medical kit. Miwa checked her injuries. Some cuts, a lot of bruises and even more road rash. She had her knees, shins, palms and face with scratches from being dragged along the pavement. She could hardly believe that actually happened. She'd never crashed like that. Then again, she couldn't think of a time she'd been going that fast down that street before.

The man moved her hand gently to wrap her injuries. She hissed in pain. "I'm sorry!" He shouted, dropping her.

Miwa held her wrist, laughing nervously again. "Oh, it's not your fault."

"Your wrist is swelling pretty bad. You must have sprained it. Would you mind pushing through the pain so I could wrap it properly?"

"Y-Yeah, sure."

Miwa stayed as still as she could. Having her wrist wrapped up hurt. But she had to admit, the spray to keep the wounds from getting infected hurt much more. The stinging was bad, especially on her face. She was very thankful for the man who helped her. Now covered in bandages, she finally looked up at him. She looked up right into black eyes and neatly combed orange hair. She felt her heart skip a beat when she saw his kind smile. She gulped. This was no mere man who helped her. It was someone quite special, but she just couldn't put her finger on who he reminded her of.

"There. That should be good. Does everything feel alright?"

She nodded. "Feeling patched up great. Thanks for saving me."

"It's no problem. You hit the ground hard. Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital?"

Miwa picked up her skateboard, shaking her legs to get feeling back in them. "Yeah. I feel just fine now. All thanks to you. Well, I should be on my way."

"What were you in such a rush for?"

"Oh, that. My mother. I'm late for a family dinner. They just moved here from another country. I promised I'd be there for them."