I landed on the asphalt on my right side. I felt like I did a couple of spins on the ground before coming to a halt.

"Ah… damn"

Little by little the state of shock disappeared and I could realize what had happened. My hands hurt a little and I had a scrape on my knee and several sores on my legs, but luckily it didn't seem like anything serious. Wearing short clothing didn't help to avoid getting injured, but it could have been a lot worse. I relieved and quickly came to my senses, then raised my head to where the other person was.

"Ah…"

There, a few meters away, the other cyclist was down. It was on its back, in a fetal position and barely seemed to move.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Gah…"

It barely managed to moan, still on its back and with little movement. Naturally I was worried.

"Hey… hey, react, please"

I walked over while standing awkwardly, my knees and legs a little sore. Every step I took felt my legs weaken. With each step that I approached, I was analyzing its figure. It was wearing a beige jacket that covered its entire body from behind, cotton pants and small black sneakers. That was very atypical due to the actual template weather, and to make things worse, I couldn't see what happened to it. When I finally reached the cyclist, I leaned down to help.

"Hey, are you-"

"Let go!"

I couldn't help but be surprised when the cyclist's high-pitched voice complained as it brushed my arm away. Immediately afterward it turned to me and I got a good look at his face. It was a girl.

Her long black hair, previously covered entirely by the hood of her jacket, waved flamboyantly as she turned her head. I could see her dark blue eyes, possibly the most beautiful I have ever seen, narrow angrily at me. Despite her furious face, she looked like an angel. I couldn't help but gaze at her for a moment.

"You… you do know that you should look at the road when you ride a bicycle, don't you?" she yelled at me.

After a few seconds still in shock, amazed by the recent discovery, I managed to answer her.

"Huh? The same to you! Don't you know how to react when someone approaches from another street?"

I wasn't sure what had happened, but one thing was clear: I didn't like her attitude at all. Much less when I was having an amazing time and a speeding cyclist ambushed me on a crossroad that should be empty.

"Huh?" she was surprised.

"You complain so much, but I was the only one who saw you. Until I yelled at you, you hadn't even seen me. And you tell me to look at the road?" I told her exalted.

"Hey, don't tell me anything! You were coming too fast for me to have seen you. Look where your bike ended up" she alluded to how much it had flown after the impact, while pointing firmly at it. She had suddenly stood up and was facing me directly.

"But if you also came at great speed!"

"It isn't true!"

"It is!"

"No!"

With each shout, we got closer in an angry way. It was definitely not the ideal way to start the day. I sighed unhappily.

"Ah, whatever, are you okay?" I asked, still worried.

"Y-yes, luckily. But you must- gah!"

I was getting ready to effectively help her so I could finally be on my way. I wanted to leave that bad moment behind and continue to my destination, where arriving on time was almost impossible. But as she spoke to me, something changed in her. The girl was interrupted from one moment to another and grabbed her chest quickly. Her face showed a strong expression of pain, and she closed her eyes very tightly. I naturally worried at such a sudden reaction.

"Hey, are you alright?!"

She was still clutching her chest, tightly clutching her jacket and the sole shirt underneath it. Her face showed pain, but also fear.

She was shocked for about ten seconds, until the effect seemed to calm her down. She was breathing heavily, but was able to open her eyes and slowly recover. She stared at the floor between her legs, bent so that she was almost forming a fetal position, for several more seconds. Then she looked up and was surprised by my figure.

"Do you want some?" I told her while holding a bottle of water close to her face, while still standing on my feet.

Her face went from being surprised to returning to the seriousness and anger of before. I can't be sure, but she seemed to nod slightly at my offer.

"Ah, it's cool! So nice!"

The girl I had shot down was relieved to drink from my water bottle, which I always carried in my backpack. We had left our bicycles parked against a nearby tree, and we had sat at the foot of another, right next to the intersection where the accident had occurred and where I had fell onto the ground.

"Isn't it? You can drink all you want" I said putting a friendly smile. I didn't want the problem to continue.

"Hey, if you think you earned my forgiveness for this, you're wrong!" she stopped drinking to reproach me.

"Huh?! I already told you I don't want you to forgive me. You could have been alert to the road, too"

She forced me to change my face of compassion for one of anger.

"I'm telling you that you were coming very fast, you should have slowed down!"

"You were also coming very fast!"

At each shout, we brought our faces closer by inertia. Neither wanted to give in, as if we were part of a boxing match.

"Huh, whatever. You can think what you want" I turned my face away in revulsion.

"The same I say," she copied me.

We were both still mad at each other. Deep down I knew that I was going very fast, but her attitude bothered me a lot. Not wanting to admit her mistake was something that made me irritable and prompted me to do the same. But as much as I hated her, I wasn't like that, and I quickly changed my face to continue talking to her.

"Besides, I'm not doing it because I want your pity. You really scared me with that sudden pain reaction you made"

The girl instantly reacted in surprise. Her eyes widened and, then, she followed with a worried face.

"Ah, yes" the girl looked wistfully at the floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked moving my right forearm over her, just above the jacket and without touching.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Heh? Ah, yes, don't worry. That happens to me when I don't eat anything, and this morning I couldn't have any breakfast, haha" she began to laugh while smiling for the first time. Something about that gesture seemed overreacted to me.

Still, I acted quickly.

"Well, in any case, I must-"

The girl seemed to want to put something in her backpack to leave, but was interrupted when she saw that I was handing something else to her now.

"Here, have this"

"What is this?" she was intrigued.

I handed her the cardboard bag I had packed in my backpack earlier.

"A medialuna. Luckily it didn't get crushed when I fell. You can eat it if you are hungry" I said with a serious but understanding face.

I offered her that same medialuna Miss Irma gave me, which can also be called croissant to simplify. She remained staring at the bag for a couple of seconds and her eyes lit up.

"Eh? Are you sure?" She asked me in a much softer voice.

I gently nodded my head. She looked at the bag again, not sure what to do, and slowly grabbed it with both hands. She slowly unwrapped the package and looked at the content. The croissant, toasted and still warm, was fluffy and soft.

"Thank you" she said very slowly. The total change of her personality made it look like it was another completely different person.

"It doesn't matter. It's the least I can do" I said looking forward, losing myself in the park.

I had already recovered from the accident, and remembered my situation. I took my cell phone, which luckily hadn't been damaged in the fall, out of my backpack, and looked at the time. It was five minutes to eight. There was no way I was going to be on time anymore. As much as I could get there in five minutes, I had to accompany the girl and make sure she was okay. In the midst of that concern, I began to think out loud.

"Huh, this is the worst. I really wanted to get there early on my first day. I hope I don't give them a bad impression"

I involuntarily turned to check on the girl, and was surprised when I saw her extend her hand towards me.

"Heh?"

"Here, have this"

I looked closely at her hand, which was holding the croissant I had given her, but now cut in half. She had the other end being held by her right hand.

"But-"

"It was yours, wasn't it? It's the least I can do," she insisted.

I felt a similarity to what I had told her earlier, and that made me a little more sympathetic to her. I smiled warmly in response.

"Alright"

I took the halved croissant and proceeded to take a bite. I felt even more happiness.

"Wow, it's delicious. I couldn't expect less from Miss Irma"

The girl saw how I ate so happily, looked at her piece of the croissant for a few seconds and took a small bite. She chewed the food for a few seconds and her face showed the same feeling as mine.

"Hmm, how tasty it is!" She closed her eyes and was excited.

"Isn't it? Miss Irma makes the best croissants in town. I'm glad to go past her shop every day"

"That's good. Where do they sell them? I could eat them all day," she asked me in excitement.

"At a store about ten blocks that way. Do you know the area?" I was pointing at my back, from where I originally came riding my bicycle.

"Huh? Hmm, more or less. I live nearby, but..."

I noticed something very strange in her expression, as if she became melancholy because of the comment. I couldn't understand why.

"Well, don't worry. Let me write it down on a piece of paper," I told her to get rid of her sensation of angst.

"Oh, thanks"

I turned to my backpack and took a piece of paper that I had loose inside a notebook. As I searched for it, I remembered the expression she had just put on her angelical face. Her eyes, which had been taking on a glare, seemed to now be lit off.

"Could it be that she is still shocked by the clash? Well, let's better not think about that"

I took out a pen and paper and began to write the address of the place, although I did not remember it with complete accuracy.

"Hey, where were you going in such a hurry?" I noticed she made me a question.

"Well, today would have been my first day at college. But my cell phone had no battery, so it didn't ring in time. I got involved in a rush to make it on time."

"I see… huh?!"

The girl pounced close to me suddenly. I leaned to my left side, opposite from her, in response.

"Did you say college?"

"Heh? Y-yes"

Her face seemed to be flushed again, leaving behind any consternation she had. She stared at me for a few seconds and then...

"Pfff," she let out a grin.

"Heh?"

"Hahahahahaha, what do you mean you are in college? You look really young to be in college"

I automatically felt embarrassed as she couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Shut up! I don't need you to tell me that!"

It wasn't the first time someone told me that. All my life, I physically appeared to be younger than I really was. With my big cheeks and neat hair, I was always mistaken for someone two or three years younger. It had its advantages, and as I got older, I learned to take it as a good thing, but it had always been an uncomfortable thing to listen to.

"Hahaha, I can't believe it. Sorry, sorry. Do not take it the wrong way" little by little, her loud laugh calmed down. As she kept showing pleasantry, she covered his eyes with her bare hands, leaving only her smile visible.

"God damn"

I continued writing down the address on the paper as the girl kept thinking.

"So the college, it is"

I nodded.

"Wait a minute, if you had to arrive to your college early today," she realized something and looked at me, worried.

"I know. It's horrible, but it is what it is. There's no point on regretting now"

"Eh? But it was your first day and…" she began to feel guilty.

"Alright, forget it, don't remind me anymore. It's the least I can do, I couldn't leave you like this after the accident," I tried to explain in a compassionate voice.

I finished writing the details of Doña Irma's business on a piece of paper and held out my hand to give it to her.

"Here you have. I recommend their cakes, they are very tasty," I said smiling at the floor, while I kept the pen in my backpack again.

I felt a firm grip on the paper, but it didn't move.

"… I'm sorry"

I heard an almost inaudible voice, very low. I looked at her and found her vivacious blue eyes pointing to the floor, sad and embarrassed.

"Heh?"

"I'm sorry. If I would had been more careful when riding my bike... you would..."

I didn't know exactly if it was my fault or hers. But the feeling of wanting to apologize by herself was very noble, and she meant it from the deepest of her heart. My opinion of her changed even more for good.

"It's okay. Actually, I'm the one who is sorry. I was going very fast and I didn't look at the intersection. Are you sure something doesn't hurt?"

"Hm, hm. I'm fine" she shook his head in negation.

"I understand. I was worried before when you started to take very deep breaths"

"Oh, yes… ah! I'm sorry. I'm delaying you quite a lot, am I not?"

She seemed to have remembered something, and she showed concern again. She then noticed that I was looking at her with great focus.

"Huh? Ah, well yes, but it doesn't matter anymore"

Of course, telling her she was the anchor that was slowing me down was not a great idea. With that in mind, I tried to drag the conversation away.

"I like to stay looking at the landscape, watching people go by and how everything goes its way. It makes you think that each person is a different world, which at the same time makes up our true world. And that everyone does what they can to change it. It's really amazing"

I didn't know it, since I was aiming my gaze on the horizon, but she was staring at me. I only realized it when I turned to her. The wind blew gently and fluttered her soft hair. Her cheeks were slightly pink, or at least it seemed that way to me.

"That's a nice way of thinking about it, I think…" she smiled sweetly.

She was truly beautiful, like something out of a painting. However, I was getting more and more puzzled. There was something that bothered me. In all of her gestures, whether happy or sad, I noticed something even deeper in the background. As if her eyes were getting misty, more and more each instant that went by. I don't know how long it was, but I could swear that moment in which I looked at her took an eternity.

That eternity was abruptly interrupted by a loud melody. The girl quickly looked at her phone.

"Uh… ah! I completely forgot, I have to go"

"Heh? O-okay, then"

"What is going on? She said she was fine, unhurt, and was about to leave, so I can finally continue my path. Everything turned out fine… then why don't I want her to leave?"

The girl quickly ate her part of the croissant and adjusted his backpack. In my head, I was just thinking that it was the last time I was going to see her. That girl who at first seemed cold, but was not such a thing. That girl who…

"Thanks for your help, I hope we see each other again- Gah!"

Again, she clutched her chest tightly, falling back against the tree. I got worried again.

"Are you okay? You should see a d-"

"I'm fine, don't worry!" She tried to reassure me, but despite her effort, she was by far the most nervous of us. She tried to accommodate everything quickly without me understanding what was happening.

I kept noticing something weird. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Well, see you-"

In an instant, she had stood up and was about to leave. But…

"Gah!"

When she was almost fully on his feet, something suddenly happened to her. Her knees gave out, and like a feather, she vanished, falling to the opposite side with all of her weight. While that girl was falling, I couldn't take my eyes off her. I worried like never before.

"Hey! Are you okay? Hey, talk to me!"

"Ah! Hel... Ah! Ah…"

She wasn't okay at all. She was clutching her chest tightly, and her face twisted in pain. I immediately understood. I took her hands off his chest and put my ear to hers. I waited a few seconds.

There was nothing. No pulse.

"Shit! Hey, stay with me! Everything is alright!"

I jumped into my backpack and grabbed the cell phone. I dialed 1-0-7, the emergency number, and called. I pressed the phone between my right shoulder and ear and began to try to revive her. My complete focus had to be put on this situation.

I placed the palm of my left hand on his chest, and my right hand, the dominant one, on top of the other. I started doing the compressions, one per second, hard, while the phone was not responding. I had to constantly do that for at least 90 seconds, and keep doing so if there was no response in between, making an average 100-120 compressions per minute.

"Come on!"

I continued to perform compressions as per protocol, but had no response. The girl's sounds were getting weaker, and I began to despair.

"Please help!"

I felt her body grew colder and paler. I remembered horrible things. I couldn't fail, but I didn't know what to do anymore. I fell into despair.

"Help me!!!"

I don't think I've ever screamed so loud in my life. And I think I kept doing so, but I don't know for how long.