Leaf

I walked at a rather hasty pace; the man behind me was gradually getting ever closer to me. Wind hissed at me and I cowered at the noise. This was the last thing I heard before the streetlights blew and the light within escaped from the glass. Pitch black, the night encircled me and before I knew it I had reached the dead end of the alley; which was meant to be my exit from the dark figure following me. Loud footsteps reached my ears in a sudden burst, I quickly made a scramble for the wall but there was no chance for me so I prepared to fight. The first blow was the worst, a left hook to my face. As soon as the large hand made impact with my jaw I fell to the ground. My mouth was warm with the taste of my own blood so I spat on the floor in front of me afraid for what would happen. I remained optimistic and thought of what to do next, but I saw him put his hand in his pocket for what I believed to be a knife. Swiftly I kicked him in the groin and he fell down even though the kick had little power behind it. For some reason, I was stuck in the corner of an alleyway with a delirious assailant trying to kill me but still I thought about why I was being victimized by a complete stranger. He was now standing over me with the knife in his hand with me right in front of him, pleading him not to kill me before asking why he was here. The man took time to consider his response; I couldn’t stop looking at the strange mark on his face; two knives crossing each other, I think it was a tattoo. I stopped looking at the knives on his cheek then I saw his mouth move and then he spoke. ‘Because you’re different’. Then he thrust the knife at me which was the moment I thought I was guaranteed to die.