The unexpected encounter – a short story

The narrow alleyway leading to the wine shop was almost deserted except for a handful of people. With her nose buried deep in a book, Mia didn’t notice the bridge or the adjoining steps until she stumbled and fell to her knees. To her pleasant surprise, she found herself being assisted by a tall, handsome stranger. Henry, the stranger made sure that she didn’t hurt herself. With a slight smile, he handed over her book that had engineered the fall in the first place.

As the book exchanged hands, their fingers grazed and their eyes met. He had intense black eyes that made her heart beat a little faster. Though she was momentarily rendered speechless by his charm, Mia shook herself out of her reverie and thanked him for his assistance. As they parted ways, Mia’s hands lingered ever so briefly on his broad shoulders. Mia hoped Henry hadn’t noticed that.

Even as they walked away from each other, Mia turned around to get a good look at her target. That was him alright. Henry Lucas, the notorious drug kingpin on their list. Confident about her mission’s success, she spoke into her earpiece, “Agent Spencer reporting; Tracking device successfully deployed. Target identity confirmed.”.

Agent Spencer walked away, masquerading as a bibliophile too engrossed in a book for her own good. Her team was busy setting up a perimeter to cut off all possible exits. Weaving an intricate web, the federal agents were lying in wait for their target to approach. An oblivious Henry made his way through the alleyway, only to be surrounded and arrested by cops at long last.

Author’s Note:

Not all stories where the girl meets boy end up as love stories. I hope you enjoyed the twist.

This story was written in response to KL Caley’s weekly #writephoto prompt. The challenge is to use the given photo prompt as an inspiration to create a post on your own blog… poetry, prose, humour… light or dark, whatever you choose, as long as it is fairly family-friendly. Thank you, KL for hosting this challenge. Click on the link to know more about this challenge and to read the entries by my fellow bloggers.

For visually challenged writers, the image shows steps up and over a bridge, with narrow alleyways at each side of the bridge.

Image courtesy: Jemima Pett

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