STILL

A Minute Hope

She dropped her gaze to my hand, where I still held the pennies, then back up at me. With that she walked into the store, forgetting about me. I shouldn't feel disappointed, but I always do.

The wind suddenly picked up, freezing me to the bone. I only had a pair of jeans and a shirt for clothes. The rest had worn out. The only thing that truly meant something to me was my gun. They let me keep my most trusty gun. When I first joined I bought one weapon that I could keep and I ended up buying a SIG P226. It was a semi-automatic handgun, and it worked well. I only had one magazine left and I was saving it for emergencies.

The wind brought me out of my thoughts and I tried to get up to move into the alley more. My muscle nerves were being a bitch right now. When I was shot in the leg it damaged some of my nerves and sometimes they will fail on me. Grunting, I used my hand to drag myself farther into the alley. Away from the cold.

Once where I wanted to be, I stopped to catch my breath; a hand over my right ribs. Damn. I really just want it all to end. I pulled my handgun out of the back of my pants and pulled out the magazine. There were only seven shots in it. The eighth on I kept in my pocket. In case I actually had the balls to...end it all.

"Excuse me."

Frightened by the sound of a voice, I raised the handgun and pointed in the directions of the voice. A shriek followed.

Through the bright sun I noticed it was the woman I just saw. She was holding two cups of coffee and giving me a frightened look. I lowered the gun and muttered a apology.

Thinking she would just go away a laid my tired and broken body on the pavement and closed my eyes. Trying to catch some sleep. The idea was short lived

"Excuse me. May I sit with you?" I opened my eyes to see her a little closer now. Her golden brown eyes staring at me with...curiosity.

I gave her a strange look but nodded. She chose to sit in front of me, so I sat up in respect. I winced with my side started to hurt again. She must have seen.

"Are you ok?" She asked with a worried look. It was weird for me. No one had ever worried about me, or pitied me. Why her?

"Yah. I'm fine." I said in a rough voice. I had not spoken to someone in a very long time.

She smiled and set both coffees on the ground before swinging her hands back and forth. The cups must have gotten to hot for her hands.

I don't normally talk to people, but curiosity got the best of me. "Why are you here?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows.

She looked up at me and smiled again. "It's really chilly today so I brought you a coffee to warm you up." She said picking it up and handing it to me. I hesitated to take it. It felt weird. She noticed this. "Don't worry. It's fine." She said.

I reached my hand out and touched to coffee cup. It's warmth immediately spreading through my body. I let out a content sigh. Looking up I quietly thanked her. She nodded in return.

I looked down at the cup of coffee. It's creamy brown liquid swirling in motions with the wind and my hand. It was warm and comforting, like hugging a person. I carefully brought it to my lips, not wanting to spill the gift of kindness. Slowly I took a small sip. My taste bud awakened and savored the rich taste. Before I know it, despite its scolding heat, it was gone. I sighed. That was amazing.

Looking up, I noticed that the woman was staring at me, wide eyed and jaw fallen. I gave her a questioning look. "What?"

She spoke in disbelief. "I've never seen someone drink a hot coffee that fast."

I shrugged. "It was very good. Thank you so much Ms. -" I said. She smiled and extender her hand. I excepted. "Ms. Angeles, but you may call me Scarlett." She said.

I smiled. "Your name sure matches your amazing hair." I said. She laughed at my comment. "Your the first person to ever tell me that." She said. "Normally they look and don't say anything even though I know they are thinking it."

I smiled at the comment. Some people are very strange and reserved.

A frown suddenly came upon my face at the thought. I can't remember the last time I smiled, like really smiled.

"What's wrong?" I smiled once again. "Nothing... I just can't remember the last time I smiled for a real reason." I said looking up at her. She smiled with me.

"What's your name?" Scarlett's face light up. "Wait! Don't tell me. I'll guess." She said before I could speak.

"Hmm." She was looking down a little and scrunching her eyes as if to see far. "Paul Maverick." She said smiling.

I gapped at her. "How did you figure that out!?" She laughed and pointed to my chest. I looked down to see my dog tags hanging out of my tattered shirt.

"What part of the military were you?" She asked.

"I was trained in the Air Force and made it to Top Gun where I became the best pilot in the school. I flew for the Air Force for two years but then I switched to navy where I became a Navy Seal." I said.

She gapped at me. "I love planes! What did you fly?" She asked. "F - 14 Tomcat." I replied. She smiled even wider. "That's so cool." She said.

A buzzing sound came suddenly and loud from the pocket of her jacket. I jumped a little and she laughed. I smiled. "Forgot what a phone sounded like." I said slightly embarrassed.

She looked down at her phone and sighed. "Well looks like I have to go now. Thank you for talking to me Paul." She said while getting up.

I grabbed her hand. "No. Thank you for talking to me. Have a great day." I said.

She smiled, before disappearing from my life forever. I would never forget her kindness. Slowly I laid back down, ready to rest my aching muscles.