When the stairwell became a trap and a stranger became my only escape

reflecting off the wet pavement like fractured pieces of a warning sign. I tried to thank him, but the words felt small and insignificant compared to what he’d just done for me, like they didn’t even belong in the same moment. I reached into my purse to offer him something—anything, a gesture that might feel equal—but he held up a hand and shook his continue reading …