Dear Brooke (with the heart tattoo on your left wrist),

Thank you for speeding in front of me and snagging yourself on the curb, recklessly tumbling into the greenery outside of the municipal building on the east side of the river. Without that, I wouldn't have met you.

You graciously accepted my offer for help, admitting your mistake and announcing your awareness of the possibility that you would be a little bit in shock after this. You asked me if you had banged up your face and I said only a little, just the chin. I asked you to check your chain links to make sure none of them were weakened, and then I took a look at your de-railer; it didn't need any adjustment. We put your chain back on your gears, you thanked me again and commented that next time you should probably be wearing a helmet but you like the wind, and I thought that would be the end of it; then I took a chance.

"Do you mind if I follow you until the bridge? I'm a little bit lost." 

You said sure.

We chatted when we could, when trafic permitted and when the lane was wide enough, until soon you kept going faster than me and we made it to the bridge and you were obviously in much better shape than I was and lead the way uphill in a higher gear than me. After we crossed, I gave another awkward stab at conversation, not eager to leave contact with you. You obliged and we pulled over.

We talked about your work, you told me how it was going, and then gave me a little of your history, new here in Portland just one month longer than I, but already graduated from university. You mentioned your sister at the same school as me, and I commented. You gave me advice on the first year, on the first few months, on making friends with those in your major, on finding your major. You told me how you really feel the change when you become fully financially independent, and I got scared. I probably looked frazzled and crazy to you. You gave me a smile.

You told me not to be so hard on myself. That I would get it, I would find a place to be, that there's room for every kind of person in Portland, and every kind of thing to be interested in. You told me that I would be fine, and to get out and find people to be with.

I'll try my best, Brooke. Thank you for talking to me, and thank you for the kind words. I needed them today.

Good luck at the coffee shop, and my best to your sister.

-M