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"I just want to talk to you"

"You’re following h I’ off the space between us

"You’re following ain"

There it is He starts backward, and I get a e of pleasure that I’ve surprised hilad that for once I’ to find words

The words fly out: "I think it’s a little bit strange that I go prettyyou, and then all of a sudden I start seeing you everywhere" I hadn’t planned on saying this--it actually hadn’t struck e--but the second the words are out of oing to be angry, but toand loud,the curve of his cheeks and chin and nose silver I’ at hih I still can’t hting it in bright, crystalline silver or leaving it in blackness--I have the iht, the same impression I had that day at the labs

"Maybe you just haven’t been paying attention," he says quietly, rocking forward slightly on his heels

I take an unconscious, half-shuffling step backward I find htened by his closeness; by the fact that even though our bodies are separated by several inches I feel as though we’re touching

"What--what do you " He pauses, watching h I can feelHopefully in the darkness he can’t tell "We’ve seen each other plenty"

"I would remember if we’d met before"

"I didn’t say that we’d met" He doesn’t try to close the new distance between us and I’rateful, at least, for that He chews on the corner of a lip--a gesture that er "Let oes on "How come you don’t run past the Governor anyasp a little "How do you know about the Governor?"

"I take classes at UP," he says University of Portland--I remember now, the afternoon alked up to see the ocean fro bits of his conversation floating back to me on the wind He did say he was a student "I worked at the Grind last semester, in Monument Square I used to see you all the time"

My oes on lockdohenever I need it the most Of course I know the Grind; Hana and I used to run past it two, e students float in and out like drifting snowflakes, blowing the steam from the top of their cups The Grind looks out onto a small square, all cobblestone, called Monument Square: It marked the halfway point of one of the six-mile routes I used to do all the time

In its center is a statue of a man, half-eroded fro curls of graffiti He is striding forward, one hand holding his hat on his head so that it looks like he is walking through a horrible storm, or a headwind His other fist is extended in front of hi so--probably a torch-- but at some point that portion of the statue was broken or stolen So now the Governor strides forith an e place for notes and secret stuff Hana and I used to check his fist soood inside But there wasn’t--just a few pieces of wadded-up chewing gum and some coins

I don’t actually knohen Hana and I started calling him the Governor, or why The wind and rain has rubbed the plaque at the base of the statue indecipherable No one else calls him that Everyone else just says, "The statue at Monu about the Governor one day

Alex is still looking at , and I realize I never answered his question "I have to switch my routes up,"

I say I probably haven’t run past the Governor since March or April "It gets boring" And then, because I can’t help it, I squeak out, "You rehs "You were pretty hard to , whooping thing"

Heat creeps up ain, and I thank God for the fact that we’ve ot; I used to juh-five the Governor as Hana and I ran past, a way of psyching myself up for the run back to school Sometimes ould even scream out, "Halena!" We must have looked completely crazy