{"id":11438,"date":"2023-12-04T10:30:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T15:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/?p=11438"},"modified":"2023-12-04T10:35:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T15:35:07","slug":"yours-initially-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/yours-initially-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Yours Initially: #5"},"content":{"rendered":"

You inch along the narrow ledge, brick scraping against your palms. Your breath catches as you glance down – you hadn’t realized how far up 30 stories is until now, staring down at the ant-sized cars and people below. The busy city street seems miles away from your precarious perch on this window washing platform.<\/span><\/p>\n

Focus<\/em>, you tell yourself, glancing back up to see the tabby still pacing along the ledge above you, its cries faint but desperate against the blustering wind. The poor cat had climbed out a cracked window, lured by pigeons, before getting stuck with no way back inside. You couldn\u2019t just leave it, though this impromptu rescue on your high rise apartment building\u2019s exterior is more intense than you had bargained for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carefully you lift one foot, balancing on the other as you feel for the next groove in the brick fa\u00e7ade. The old bricks offer uneven footing but enough crevices for your fingers and toes to cling to. Just like climbing the big oak tree back home, you tell yourself, trying to ignore your pounding heartbeat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only 20 more feet and you\u2019ll be able to reach out and grab the cat from the window above. But you have to focus on finding secure holds first – no distractions. You glance down despite yourself then instantly regret it, vision swimming at the tiny specks of traffic now directly under your feet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just then the rooftop door behind you slams open, and you nearly lose your grip at the noise. There shouldn\u2019t be anyone else up here. You glance back to see a tall, handsome man in a suit stride toward the ledge where you cling. Wait is he…? Yes, now he\u2019s climbing out the window and onto the tiny ledge, heading straight for you!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u201d He calls over the wind, face etched with concern. \u201cJust hold on, ok? I\u2019m coming to get you!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Get you?<\/em> Does he think you\u2019re trying to jump? Realization hits you even as another blast of wind nearly knocks you sideways. From his angle it must look like –<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, stop!\u201d You yell back through chattering teeth. Not from cold but reaction setting in from the long minutes spent teetering over deadly space.<\/span><\/p>\n

He continues toward you, one arm stretched out. \u201cIt\u2019s ok, just talk to me. We\u2019ll figure this out, I promise. Nothing is bad enough to end it all.\u201d His eyes radiate warmth and compassion despite the panic in his voice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not – \u201d you start, cut off by the screech of the cat above. His gaze follows yours up to the tabby, still restlessly pacing with no idea of the danger its in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh god,\u201d his eyes widen in understanding. Then narrow in determination. Before you can react, he\u2019s climbing past you, muscles flexing beneath his dress shirt as he rapidly scales the side of the building.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWait, stop!\u201d You yell again, terrified he\u2019s going to send you both over the edge with his added weight.<\/span><\/p>\n

He pauses, dangling from one hand just above you as he glances down. \u201cIt\u2019s ok,\u201d he says gently, holding your gaze. \u201cI\u2019ve got you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You shiver, unsure whether it\u2019s from fear or the intensity of his stare. His face is just inches from yours now, features chiseled to perfection beneath slightly windswept hair. Focus<\/em>, you remind yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe cat – \u201d you explain weakly. \u201cI almost have her. Let me grab her first.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He studies you a moment as if trying to decide whether to believe you. Finally he gives a terse nod before scaling swiftly up to the next ledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carefully, cautiously you follow, scrambling back into movement. As you climb hand over hand up the building side, you keep your eyes glued to that ledge above. Almost there.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man reaches it first, muscled torso allowing him to pull himself up in one smooth motion. Then he\u2019s lying flat, one hand outstretched toward the still whimpering tabby.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHere kitty,\u201d you hear him call gently as you finally hoist yourself onto the ledge beside him. It\u2019s wider up here – you let out a breath you didn\u2019t realize you were holding now that there is solid stone under you instead of thin air.<\/span><\/p>\n

You meet the eyes of the handsome stranger now stretched on his belly mere inches away from you reaching for the cat like a life line. Something electric passes between you – relief maybe, or delayed reaction from the intensity of the last few minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood kitty,\u201d he murmurs encouragingly as the tabby creeps closer, still crying but tempted toward help by his outstretched fingers. His eyes don\u2019t leave yours. This close you can see flecks of amber ringed by dark lashes. His face is striking, angled planes and hollows making him seem almost unreal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cat lets out a pitiful mewl, inching forward until finally its head bumps the man\u2019s hand. In a flash he has the tabby wrapped in his arms, cradling it to his chest as he maneuvers swiftly away from the ledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

You sit up too, knees weak as the adrenaline rush begins to fade. But the stranger stays crouched protectively around the now-purring cat, studying you with searching eyes.<\/span><\/p>\nJoin us or log in to read more.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You inch along the narrow ledge, brick scraping against your palms. Your breath catches as you glance down – you hadn’t realized how far up 30 stories is until now, staring down at the ant-sized cars and people below. The busy city street seems miles away from your precarious perch on this window washing platform. Focus, you tell yourself, glancing back up to see the tabby still pacing along the ledge above you, its cries faint but desperate against the blustering wind. The poor cat had climbed out a cracked… \u0627\u0642\u0631\u0623 \u0623\u0643\u062b\u0631<\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"series":[186],"class_list":["post-11438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contemporary-2","series-yours-initially"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Yours-Initially-Image-1024x576.png","blog_images":{"medium":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Yours-Initially-Image-300x169.png","large":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Yours-Initially-Image-1024x576.png"},"ams_acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11438"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=11438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}