It was a cold September night. A night on which anyone with half a brain would be all tucked in behind securely closed doors. Wandering the streets in this weather could probably be summarized as suicide.

And what was I doing? Just that. Wandering the streets. Searching, searching, always searching. For what? I don't know. Guess I'll know when I find it.

Why couldn't I be one of those people? Those invisible people who could just crawl into their shell and no one cared?

Life must be better for them, right? I'm so sure they're not out at this time searching for answers to questions they don't want to analyze. No, those people are probably sitting happily reading their comic books or playing their video games. As usual. Well good for them. It's awesome that they have their little world where no one trespasses, where no one cares what they wear or where they go or who they're dating. Good on them. I want that. I just want to be me, whoever that is. So that's why I'm here, walking around in the park at 2 A.M.

Couldn't take my house anymore, staring at those walls was starting to make me feel claustrophobic. Maybe I'll go see if the ducks are out, they always cheer me up. So carefree, going about their lives. Completely oblivious. As I sat there on the bench I started to think, it'd be so easy to just walk into that pond, put my head under the water, and just never come up again.

A tiny smile started forming on my lips. Maybe that's what I need to do. Escape the tedium of the crapper I call my life. I got up and took a step towards the water, then another and another. Before I knew it I was under the water. It all just seemed so easy. As I waited for the sweet solace that I'm sure comes with death, I started thinking of mum, lying drunk, and passed out in the lounge after another one of her rows with her latest boyfriend, Larry, or was it, Barry. Hmmm, could even have been Jerry or Tom or Ted.

There've been so many that I stopped caring what their names were. They never stuck around long enough for it to matter anyhow. How long have I been down here for anyway? Death is taking a very long time, not that I'm getting impatient, I've got nothing but time. And just then my eyes started to droop a little and a sort of blackish haze settled around me. Aren't you supposed to see a light when you go? Hope they have cheeseburgers where I'm headed.

It doesn't matter. Goodbye world.

"Hey, hey. Come on don't do this. Stay with me." That voice. Where the heck was that voice coming from? And there he was, the first thing I saw as I opened my eyes. "There you go, you're okay now. It's going to be okay," he said. At least I think that's what he said. Everything is so jumbled up there. Then it all came back to me and I started shivering like crazy.

He took off his coat and covered me with it. That felt kind of better and my eyes drifted closed again. My senses were slow to come around but when they did, my eyes popped open again, I opened my mouth and said the first thing that popped into my head. "Are you insane?!" And with that, I jumped up, shoved his jacket at him, and stalked off.

He sat there for a while, dumbfounded, and then he sprang to his feet and chased after the crazy girl. "Hey! Like what's the deal?!" He screamed breathlessly at her.

Claire got a shiver of annoyance; this guy had just swooped in out of nowhere and completely ruined this for her! She turned on him angrily.

"What? What is it? Can I possibly help you with something?" She said striving to remain calm. He just stared at her as she had just grown a second head before his very eyes. Maybe she had a concussion or something. Could she have hit her head on something in that pond? She must have because she couldn't possibly be mad at him for saving her life, could she? "Are you okay? You must have been down there for a while. How about I take you to the emergency room so they can check you out. Make sure you're okay?" Maybe if he kept a rein on his temper she would thaw off and quit glaring daggers at him. "No thanks, I'll pass."

And with that she turned on her heel and started walking away, dripping water all the way. "Wait, you were practically dead okay, I saved your life you know." Her steps halted at his words, so that was it, Claire thought. Mr. Boy scout over here wanted a little pat on the back for his good deed.

"You're right," she said turning around. "You did save my life so congratulations, you must be so proud, but could I just point out that I don't owe you anything, I didn't ask you to jump in the pond and save me like some bad superman re-run okay."

And she turned to start walking away again, she wasn't going to die today so she might as well get out of these wet clothes, they were starting to itch. What was with this guy, couldn't he just go on his way? She didn't want anything from him, heck he didn't know her so why couldn't he just leave her alone.

Trent watched the girl go with mixed emotions. When he'd started for his jog home from the hospital, he hadn't anticipated this dramatic series of events. He'd slowed down to take a stroll through the park, his apartment was just on the other side of it and the park was the most peaceful place he knew in the city. He'd seen her sitting on the bench, figured she was like him, looking for a little quiet in a not so quiet city, but then she'd walked into that pond.

That had jolted him but this was New York, you got all kinds of whackos and thrill-seekers. Until she'd stayed down too long. Way too long and he'd jumped in to save her. She hadn't been breathing, no pulse. For a while, as he'd performed CPR on her, he thought he'd been too late to jump in, but then she started to sputter and she'd opened her eyes. Those big green eyes, the color of emeralds. They were so…so… peaceful…and beautiful8. But then those eyes had turned stormy and she turned on him. Who knew saving a person's life could be put in such awful light. But after the day he'd had, working a double shift, he was in no mood to investigate this crazy night any further. The crazy girl was alive and she wasn't his responsibility anymore.