handicapped girl in the rain

handicapped girl in the rain

fiction
edward w pritchard

I wanted to help the girl but I couldn't get out of the traffic to park.

Our weather had been unseasonably cold and rainy all Spring. Stopped at a red light it began to pour, a cold heavy drizzle driven by a gusting wind. I was sitting at the red light there where five roads converged and it took a long time for my light to turn green as I watched the girl cross three streets with the lights as she was dashed by the rain. She was wearing long shorts and a light shirt and the rain was soaking her as she ran without a hat.

The girl ran awkwardly with her arms held shoulder high clumsily for balance and I surmised she was handicapped before I had enough visual information to verify my intuition. When she ran I could see her legs worked less than optimally and she didn't react normally to the rain storm.

I didn't fear for her safety in the heavy traffic in the rain storm but it seemed like someone should do something to help. I was at a very long light and I was in a long line of stopped traffic in a heavy rain at a busy intersection.

The girl rain against three lights successfully crossing in a three quarters circle using the button to assist a passenger in crossing. She was not waiting for the lights to change in her favor or the button to assist her but was taking a quick glance and then crossing against the lights. It was very stressful to watch.

She must be very drenched from the rain but she successfully crossed three streets and I could see she was momentarily safe as I watched her in my rear view mirror as I pulled through the intersection and drove off.