We're walking next to each other in near silence.
My eyes are trained on the empty street ahead of us but I can hear her, hear her breath harshening as she struggles to keep her composure. I don't know the whole story, only that her heart is broken, which is good enough for me.
Knowing her, and knowing there's nothing useful I could say, I reach out gently, tentatively.
Our fingers brush, our pace slows. We near the end of the block and her hand is clasped in mine.
Then, with a small pained noise she turns in to my arms. I hold her wordlessly, her tears soaking the shoulder of my shirt.
I'd had my coat in one hand, and out of instinct I'd covered her as she hugged me.
For a short while we share that space under my coat. Her, succumbing to the sadness she held, and I, feebly doing what I could to guard her from the rest of the world as she did it, my heart heavy with empathy.
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