“...I suppose a thank you is in order so you have my thanks and nothing else."

As the woman walked away, Manny had some mixed feelings about the brief encounter. Of course, he was appreciative of the thanks, but the severe manner in which she delivered the message diminished the sincerity. The thanks was more than enough, though the woman spoke as if he was expecting some sort of reward or extra praise. He didn’t dwell on it too long before getting back to his job.

After a few hours of work, Manny and a few other crew members took a short break.

“Comin’ right along here, aren’t we?” commented one of the workers.

“Yeah, man, we’re moving pretty quick,” another chimed in, wiping sweat from his brow and taking a swig from his water bottle.

[color=a0410d]“We might be done sooner than expected at this rate,”[/color] Manny said, examining the progress. [color=a0410d]”Of course, we all know it’s because I showed up.”[/color]

“Get over yourself, Mop Top.”

[color=a0410d]“You know, you fit right in around here with that horseshoe you got going on.”[/color]

The other crew members let out a laugh, one of them giving Manny a fist bump. As the laughter subsided, the worker facing Manny nodded in the direction behind him. Manny and the crew turned to see the blind rider and her seeing-eye dog approaching.

[color=a0410d]“Hang on, guys.”[/color]

Manny noticed immediately how much better she looked when she hadn’t just been in a minor crisis. Her hair was pure white, her skin wasn’t covered in grime and blood -- and was actually quite pale, and she had less of a mortified expression. He did notice that she still had a bit of a limp, so her leg must have taken a bigger hit than he thought. Armed with his usual friendly tone, he approached the young rider.

[color=a0410d]“Hey, Aur-”[/color]

His greeting was cut off as she quickly placed a package in his hands and awkwardly sped off in the other direction. A confused look washed over his face before fading into a sympathetic grin.

[color=a0410d]“Well, someone’s a bit shy…”[/color]

Looking down at his gift, he could already smell the inviting aromas of the cookies. Lifting the still-warm package to his nose, he gave the treats a proper inhale and gave a blissful smile. He noticed a note slid underneath the ribbon and pulled it out to examine it. The childlike handwriting of “Thank you” lead him to believe that she wrote it herself, and he was pretty impressed.

[color=a0410d][i]Not only can she ride a horse blind, but she also knows how to write...that’s kind of amazing...but I wonder why she ran off…[/i][/color]

Manny walked back over to the crew with gift in hand munching on a cookie.

“Whatcha got there, buddy?”

[color=a0410d]“Just a little ‘thank you’ gift from the girl I rescued from that mess,”[/color] Manny said nodding toward the site.

“Wait, so there really [i]was[/i] someone trapped under all that? And you got her out?”

[color=a0410d]“Did you think it was a joke or something?”[/color]

“How about spreading the wealth, hero,” a crewman suggested with his hand out.

Manny clutched the cookies close to his body. [color=a0410d]“Sorry, gentlemen...to the victor goes the spoils.”[/color]

The crewman waved Manny off and shook his head. “That’s okay...I’ll just find my own damsel-in-distress.”

[color=a0410d]“Good luck with that. Alright, guys...back to the grind.”[/color]

Manny tied the package back up and stuck it in the pocket of his work vest, creating an awkward bulge. He glanced back in the direction which Aurora had scampered off and wondered if he’d have a chance to actually talk to her.