WfW ~ the unexpected guest

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles. Sadly, Delores has now closed her blog forever due to other problems.

The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along to read it and add a few encouraging words.

This month the words/prompts are supplied by River at Drifting Through Life and can be found right here.

  I barely noticed her at first.  Driving down the road, I don't usually let my eyes wander too far, but something about her must have caught my subconscious eye because I found myself pulling into the next parking lot I found and turning around to go back.

  The threadbare antique pink scarf wrapped around her neck couldn't possibly have been keeping her warm in the cold winds this early in the fall season.  Pulling up behind her, I disconnected my cell phone from the charger as I got out of the car in case I needed to call 911.

  "Oh my gosh.  You poor thing!  You must be freezing!  Let me get you into the car and warmed up!"

  She tottered behind me back to the car, wisps of grey blowing about her face as the scarf picked that moment to come loose and blow away.  I almost chased after it but realized it would be a futile race against the wind.

  "I'm so sorry about your scarf.  It was such a beautiful color too.  This wind today is just brutal, isn't it?  I think that we must be the only ones out on the road today.  Everybody else must be smarter than we are, staying inside and out of this unusually cold day."

  I waited for some kind of response, but there was none, and her mysteriously dark eyes just watched me closely as I buckled her seatbelt around her, then snapped my own in.

  "This cold is just excruciating, isn't it?  I should have listened to the Weather Channel this morning to see if there was some kind of public service announcement about a storm blowing in.  It really isn't safe at all for you to be walking alone on the side of the road like that.  Someone could have drifted with the wind and hit you!  I'll be the first to admit that there is much to be gained by a brisk walk, but the way the winds are blowing today, they are likely to lift a roof or two!  You are so lucky that I saw you when I did!"

  Shivering now as the heat began to fill the car while I drove back home, she finally spoke.

 
"Woof."