The day had started like any other.  Cecilly finished teaching towards the end of the afternoon, and after the end of the last class for the day she tidied the studio before locking up.  The weather was chilly, but most of the winter's snow had melted away, and she thought she smelled the hint of spring.  Still, the wind gusted cold, and she pulled her jacket closer and buried her nose in her fluffy scarf until it died down, glad for the warmth of both.  There was a smile on her face as she headed off down the street.

Cecilly was in her thirties, but years of dance and self-defense had her in superb shape.  She was tall and solidly built, with short, dirty blonde hair that framed a round face.  She wore a matched fleece outfit over her closefitting dance clothes to guard against the weather, and worn running shoes, but she wasn't at all self conscious because of it.  Her stride was confident, and from a distance it was impossible to tell she was blind.  In a world where a significant percentage of the population had some minor magic ability, she had been very lucky that hers compensated for the fact that she'd been born without eyesight.  Instead, she "saw" the world in spaces and distances between things, sensing their locations.  It gave her some advantages over the seeing at close range, but as things got farther away what she could sense dropped off sharply.

She heard the car coming, but it had a red light and she was already halfway across the street.  Even if she'd known that it wasn't going to stop, there might not have been time to get out of the way.  It was going far too fast, and she had just enough time to realize she was in trouble before her world imploded.

The sound of the car's engine moving away was muffled.  There was something cold and hard and uneven digging into her cheek, and under her fingers.  It took a long moment for her to realize that it was the asphalt of the street, that the rhythmic noises were the footsteps of someone approaching.  She was far too disoriented to make them out in great detail, but she prayed they would help.  [i]Please God, I'm not ready to die.  I don't want this to be the end.[/i]  It was more the idea than actual words, but that was the thought that ran through her head.  [i]Please.[/i]