Fate on Asphalt

Pow!!

“Aghhh!” The sound erupted from my throat as my back slams against the hot asphalt. The ground feels unforgiving, heat searing through my thin shirt. My mind races, trying to process what just happened. For a moment, all I can hear is the distant hum of traffic, the rushing in my ears, and the sharp crack of my own heartbeat against my skull.

I force my eyes open. The world is a blur sunlight slicing across my vision, buildings tilting as if they’ve slipped off their foundations. When my sight clears, I’m greeted not by sky or strangers passing by, but by a face hovering over me.

Beautiful brown eyes look deep into mine, wide with panic. His long hair falls forward over his face, catching the light as his long eyelashes flutter. His skin is warm toned, kissed by the sun, and across his nose sit faint freckles too perfect to forget. My breath catches. For a strange, fleeting second, I wonder if I’ve seen him before.

I’m still lying on my back, the world spinning. My head throbs with every heartbeat, sharp stabs that make me wonder if I’ll pass out again. Am I awake? Or is this some dream bleeding into reality?

“A… are you okay?” His voice is frantic, shaky. Hands reach down and grasp my arms, pulling me up carefully. His touch is steady, though my knees wobble beneath me.

I blink, focusing. He’s tall at least six feet. A man who looks like he’s been sketched out of one of my daydreams. Blue shirt. Black pants. Messy hair that frames his face just right.

“I- I’m so sorry, miss! I didn’t see you there! Are you okay?” His words tumble out in a rush.

I grit my teeth, trying to steady myself. “I don’t imagine you would, riding a skateboard that fast in the middle of a public street,” I manage, my voice sharp with frustration. But even as the words leave me, my anger fizzles. It’s so hard to be truly mad at him...something about his presence makes my irritation melt like ice under the sun.

Instinctively, I reach up to the back of my head. The moment my fingers brush the spot, pain shoots through my skull, hot and electric. “Aghh.” My face contorts as I wince. My eyes narrow against the sting, and when I look back at him, the strangest thought escapes my lips before I can stop it.

“I know you… Do you remember me?” My voice cracks with confusion. The words feel foreign in my own mouth. Do I even know him? Do I?

His eyes widen slightly. “N… no. I don’t think I know you.” He rubs the back of his neck nervously. Then, in a softer voice, he adds, “I think I’d remember seeing a beautiful woman such as yourself.”

The compliment stings with its honesty, not smooth or rehearsed, just nervous and real.

“Huh…” My chest feels tight. “Such an odd thing. I feel like… well, I don’t know.” I pause, blinking, then ask quietly, “What’s your name, sir?”

He glances around, almost as if looking for an answer written in the air. His lips twitch nervously. “M… my name, right. My name is Jacklind Harbor.” He wipes his palms on his black pants before extending one out toward me.

I stare at his hand for a moment before finally reaching out. “Nice to meet you, Jacklind. My name is Luka Grace.” I squeeze his hand, shake it firmly. And then it hits me like lightning. My breath hitches, eyes widening.

“I dreamt of you,” I whisper.

He freezes, brows furrowing. “P… pardon? From your dream?”

“Yes.” My voice grows steadier, though my knees threaten to give out. “I remember seeing you. You look… this is uncanny.” I circle him slightly, studying his face, the freckles, the slope of his nose. Every detail feels carved from my memory. But the dizziness returns, making me stumble.

“Uh… maybe I should take you to a hospital. You might have hit your head too hard,” he says, catching me gently by the arm.

I hesitate for a second, swaying. My chest rises and falls unevenly. Then I nod. “Yes. Take me. I believe I was meant to get hit by you. Fate, as they call it.”

Jacklind lets out a nervous laugh, though his eyes stay serious, scanning me for signs of collapse. “Yeah, alright. Fate. Let’s get your head checked.”

The rest blurred together.

The car ride, the smell of leather seats and faint cologne. The sterile brightness of the hospital lobby. The cold rush of air as I was wheeled into a room. Machines humming. My name written on a clipboard. His silhouette pacing outside the MRI room, his shadow visible through the glass.

Turns out I had a brain bleed. The words struck cold fear in me, but somehow I wasn’t alone. Through the haze, Jacklind was there. Sitting in the uncomfortable chair beside my bed, eyes heavy with worry. He stayed when he didn’t have to. He offered comfort when I hadn’t asked.

It all worked out, now didn’t it? I shrug at the memory, even now.

The fire crackles beside me, pulling me back into the present. Sparks fly upward into the night sky, dissolving into tiny stars. My children’s faces glow orange in the light, eyes wide with wonder as they listen. Their hands rest against their knees, leaning forward, soaking up every word.

“And that,” I say, my voice softer, “is how fate brought me and your father together.”

Jas blinks, his brows furrowed in thought. Lea’s lips part in a little gasp, her smile growing.

“If that accident didn’t happen,” I continue, staring into the flames, “I would have never met your father. And I would have never had my beautiful children.”

I pause, looking at them both. “Jas and Lea,” I whisper, “remember this. Fate always has your back. I have to believe that.”

The fire pops, and in that moment I feel his gaze.

I lift my eyes across the circle and meet Jacklind’s. After all these years, still those same sweet brown eyes. My smile rises, unbidden, and his mirrors mine instantly like a chemical reaction, unstoppable, undeniable.

Now that’s divine intervention.