Queenmagines

[156] Brian May Imagine - The Nightly Encounter

It wasn't even that late yet, that's what she kept telling herself. It was just a bit past midnight and it was still perfectly safe for her to be out on her own. Why shouldn't it be? Well... her brain did a good job at convincing her why it might not be safe. It didn't help that she was coming from the cinema and the cinema always helped to get her imagination running, inspired by the possibilities of what if... only that in this case none of the what ifs were good scenarios to imagine, certainly not since Yetta was still out on her own, on the empty streets of nightly London.

Sometimes she strongly disliked the fact that she had such an overly active imagination. At times it could be quite useful, but not in moments like this. In moments like this she wished she could tell her brain to shut up. She had tried, but it wasn't working, so all she could do was speed up her steps a little more, hoping she could close the door of her flat behind her soon. It was in moments like this that she wished she lived closer to her friends. They had all been at the cinema together, but while they had run to get the last tube or bus, Yetta had set off on her own.

She was nearly there, just a few more turns, and yet it felt like and eternity. Yetta took a deep breath, flinching when the canvas blinds that had been left out on one of the shops fluttered in the wind. "Get yourself together," she muttered to herself. "It's just the wind." Why was it so windy tonight of all nights? The fact that it was autumn and leaves were being blown around the empty streets didn't put her any more at ease either, every sound she couldn't exactly place in her environments made her walk a little faster. She was well aware that she was probably overreacting, but there were awful stories in the newspapers or on the radio more often than they should have been. It was better to be safe - which in this case meant hypersensitive to the tiniest noises - than sorry.

When she turned around quickly, glancing over her shoulder for a moment like she had done occasionally, just to be safe, her heartbeat sped up even more. There was someone behind her, a man. And he seemed to be walking in the same direction as her, but she turned back around quickly and walked even faster. She couldn't stare too much, and she couldn't start running. She didn't want to make her fear obvious. She had to try to seem calm, even if she was anything but that.

Her mind rushing, Yetta went over the emergency plan in her mind. Elbows... elbows were good weapons. She fumbled in her pocket for her key, placing it between the index and middle finger of her left hand so she'd have at least some sort of weapon. When she tried to inconspicuously glance into the shop window she was just passing by, she could vaguely tell in the reflection that the man had almost caught up with her. Here went nothing...

Panic rushing through her body, her muscles tensed, waiting for the man to reach out and grab her. The second she could feel a hand on her arm, she stopped and jammed her elbow into the body of her pursuer as hard as she could. And it seemed to work, because the man let out a pained groan, his hand slipping from her arm. Yetta turned around, ready to defend herself with the help of her key, when she hesitated because she thought she heard her name coming from the stranger's mouth in a strained tone.

That made her wonder, why would some random guy know her name? Yetta took a step back and that was when she could see the man's face in the street lamp more clearly, even though he was still bent over, holding his stomach. And suddenly the tension left her body. "Oh my god," she muttered. "Brian? Is that you?" She knew him...

"Yes," the man groaned, still sounding like he was in pain. "Bloody hell, why did you hit me?"

"I'm so sorry!" Yetta exclaimed, looking at him worriedly. She really was. "I had no idea it was you, what are you doing here? I thought you took the bus home, I thought you were some creepy guy following me, trying to hurt me... I'm so sorry. I was about to punch you with my key, oh god.." Shaking her head, she stepped a little closer again. "I'm so sorry... why didn't you say something?"