At the Threshold
Copyright© 2025 by Heel
Chapter 5: The Visit
By the third day, Anna had grown used to the rhythm of her stillness.
The apartment was her small world now — the couch, the window, the quiet hum of traffic far below. But she needed to move, at least a little. Groceries were running low, and balancing on one leg with a mug of tea had already led to one spill too many.
So she ordered a pair of crutches online. Functional. Aluminum. Nothing special.
When the delivery notification pinged her phone, she didn’t expect anything more than a brief exchange at the door. But when she opened it, the man standing there froze for a heartbeat.
He couldn’t have been more than thirty, tall and rain-damp, his jacket speckled with droplets. His gaze fell instantly to the cast — stark white against her pale skin, leg extended and unbending. Then his eyes lifted to her face.
“Miss Bauer?” he asked. His voice was soft, uncertain.
Anna nodded. “Yes, that’s me. You can just set them there.”
He hesitated before stepping inside, careful not to drip water on the floor. There was something tentative in his movements, as if he didn’t want to disturb her fragile quiet.
When their eyes met again, his expression changed — not pity, not curiosity, but something closer to awe. It caught him off guard.
She looked tired, that was obvious. But there was something luminous about her stillness, about the way she held herself despite the cast, despite the fragility. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had seemed so human, so unguarded.
He swallowed, words catching before he found them.
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