False Perspective

There I stood, watching her break down. When it started, it was slow. I felt it long before I saw her in the street, clutching at her chest. We were just walking. Having a chat. Then she lit her cigarette, took a drag, stopped walking. She just stared down the road. Exhale. It was raining and all the shops were closed. I figure it had to be about 4 AM. Both of our phones were dead. We were completely isolated. Time started creeping again. At first I thought she was whispering. I then realized she had walked a few feet ahead of me. She was crying just above a whimper. And then she dropped. Dropped right to her knees, straight into a puddle. She's screaming now, non-English. Her cigarette fell into the water. I unglued my feet from the ground to go help her up. It'd be a long time before I saw her smile again.