Disclaimer: This had to be written in 1000 words or less. I made it to exactly 1000 words. Ha.
No one dared to approach the brooding woman. She was hunched over on the hospital bench with her head in her hands, mumbling words that were meant to be self-deprecating. Her skin was the color of a white-sanded beach and her hair was the color of the morning sun. Her eyes were hidden, but it didn't take much thought to know that they were filled with sorrow and regret. Her voice seemed quiet, calm, and light, with the capacity to make others feel safe. This woman here now was a broken woman. A woman that knew the feeling of losing another, almost intimately so.
Nobody in this hospital was safe from the negative atmosphere. It was only hours before when Fareeha heard news about there being a bombing on one of the major bridges in the city. There have been overwhelming reports of casualties and missing persons. Her father was one of the few people that made it out alive, albeit injured, but still alive. She couldn't lose her father, not after already losing her mother overseas.
Fareeha began making her way back to the hospital bench, a cup of coffee in both hands. The hospital was still hectic, but the chaos seemed to be dying down slowly. There was finally room to walk around without bumping shoulders with someone else. Her father was currently getting his final check-ups, making sure that all was well before he was released to go back home. She took one last breath before mustering up enough courage to speak to the woman.
"Um, excuse me?" Fareeha took a seat next to the hunched over figure, not knowing how to quite approach her. "I noticed that you've been here for just as long as I have, so I figured you'd care to have something to drink." She extended the black coffee out in front of the woman's head, hoping that she wasn't doing this all for naught.
"…fine…worry…" the woman waved her hand dismissively, letting out a haggard sigh as she sat up straight and leaned her head against the wall. Fareeha now had a clear view of the woman's features and was caught off guard. Her face was thin and her chin sharp. Her nose was pronounced in a way that it was still subtle. Her mouth was as wide as her lips were plump, but she could see the snide that the woman's mouth was capable of. Her eyes were large and a stark blue color, almost seeming as if she could see through you in an instant. The dark circles under her eyes indicated just how exhausted she was. She may not have been conventionally beautiful, but she was still beautiful in her own unique way.
"I'm sorry, that was rude of me." The woman pinched her nose and closed her eyes for a little while before looking at Fareeha for the first time.
"It's all right." Fareeha smiled as she offered the coffee again, this time having it accepted. "It's been a long day for all of us." She observed her closely as she took a sip from the cup, just now noticing the finer details of the woman in front of her. She wasn't hurt in any way and she didn't seem to be waiting for anyone. She spotted a name-tag above the woman's left breast, reading 'Dr. Angela Ziegler' in clear, bold print.
"Mhm?" She looked up at the woman's face when she cleared her throat. "Thank-you for the coffee. My name's Angela."
"It's a pleasure, Angela." Fareeha tilted her head to the side as she leaned back, giving the doctor a smile. "My name is Fareeha." She let out a stifled yawn, her fatigue quickly catching up to her.
"Nice to meet you, Fareeha. I see you're not one of the patients here. I got called in from a city over to help out because of how bad things were looking." Angela rolled her shoulders as she chugged the rest of her hot coffee.
"I'm sorry, I'm probably keeping you from your duties." She silently took note of the doctor shifting in her seat restlessly.
"I do have to get back." The doctor stood up, pausing for a moment before she set the empty cup aside. She turned around and reached into her pocket. Fareeha tried to figure out what she was doing before she turned back around abruptly. She presented to her a card with numbers hastily written on the back. "This is my card and number." Angela stiffly recited.
"Ah," Fareeha let out a low chuckle, beaming at the red-faced woman before her, standing up to accept the business card. "I'll be sure to reach out to you, doctor."
"Please, call me Angela." She grabbed her empty coffee cup and tossed it into the nearby waste bin. Fareeha stood up as well so she could better address the doctor.
"Angela," she said the woman's name gently, looking down into her eyes. "I'll be seeing you."
"And I, you, Fareeha." Angela took a couple of steps back, still looking back into her brown eyes. Fareeha blushed as she gave her a warm parting smile before finally turning to tend to the rest of the hospital.
She went to sit back down on the bench, still heated from their bodies earlier, closing her eyes. Who would have thought that this was happenchance, meeting a being so ordinary that seemed to enthrall her irrevocably? I guess that's the beauty of life, sometimes. You never really know who or what you'll encounter. There was an underlying feeling of hope in her chest for this moment to mean something, whether it be promising or not. It's not every day you have a hospital encounter that could change your life.
"Fareeha, are you okay?" A sing-songy voice inquired. She opened her eyes to see her fiancé handing her a cup of black coffee.
"Yes, Angela. I'm okay." Fareeha took the cup with one hand and wrapped her other around her fiancé's. Thank-you.
A/N: 1000 words is hard. Deciding what to scrap to fit the word limit is even harder. I hope you all enjoy the gay fruits of my labor.