melt.

She wore a pretty summer-like skirt; it went just a little below her knees. Her bag hung over her body; a picture of Tinkerbell painted across its flap. She trotted along Estrada, feeling hopeful.

Just as her foot touched the sidewalk of the "bridge" where sickening substance flowed right below it (you can never really tell if it's water or what -- it's greyish with flies and other diseases buzzing over it), he appeared in sight. She broke into a smile and when their eyes met, time seemed to have stopped. They stood still, ten feet away from one another, as the world surrounding them carried on. Seconds played on like hours.

Then they finally walked towards each other, with smiles stretched from ear to ear. They exchanged a few words then carried on with their own lives.

But the stillness of the moment when their eyes locked | as shyness glistened | will have made up for a million words unspoken.

She walked away with a little kid's smile on her face.
And her heart ached even more.