• Abby saw Alex standing across the street and she began to walk over to him. He gazed at her solemnly. He knew what she had done. Abby studied his face for a moment looking for some sign that he didn’t resent her for her choice. But she found the same blank expression on his face as usual. All she could see was the same calm coolness he always had.
    “Please don’t judge me for what I did,” she begged.
    Alex looked at her for another minute and finally spoke. “Why did you do that?” he asked, even though he knew the answer. It was the same thing Abby had feared for ever since she had met him.
    Abby sighed. She knew she couldn’t avoid this question forever. “Look. I had to let Sonnia go. She would have gotten to you if I had tried to keep her.”
    “But I don’t get it. Freeing her would make her eventually come back and-”
    Abby couldn’t stand thinking about her decision anymore. She turned around and grabbed Alex by the collar. “I told you not to judge me,” she growled.
    “I’m not judging you.”
    Abby held on tighter to Alex’s collar. “I saved your ********’ life. That deserves some gratitude,” she growled. She didn’t understand why Alex was making a bigger deal about Sonnia being gone than he was of the fact that she had just saved his and ten million people’s lives.
    “Don’t get me wrong,” he said with a shaking voice, “I do. You think I wanna die? You think everyone else wanted to die?”
    Abby finally let go of him. She looked down at the ground. “You don’t understand. You’ve never felt what it’s like to have to make life-or-death decisions. You don’t understand how separated you feel from the rest of the world. How elite and powerful you are to every other living thing.” Her hands were balled up in tight fists as she spoke. “But sometimes, well...it’s hard. You realize you really aren’t human. It makes you feel alone.”
    Rain began to fall slowly. She and Alex watched as the drops made tiny dots on the grey cement. One after another, filling up the empty space. Abby looked up at his face, studying him as he looked at the ground. He finally lifted his head. Their eyes met and they couldn’t pull them away from each other for a minute.
    Alex finally spoke, “You know I really do appreciate what you did today...and what you’ve done in the past. It’s not everyday that someone comes along who promises to protect you, so I guess I am lucky.” He smiled. He didn’t want her to feel bad about being who she was. Deep down, he had strong feelings for her. Overwhelming feelings. He loved her, but he didn’t know if she felt the same.
    Abby studied him for another minute, trying to find some sign of untruthfullness in him. She finally smiled back. She had always dreamed of having a friend like Alex. Someone dependable and honest. And attractive. And he was just the person. The perfect person, she thought. Oh how I love him.