Free Circles in the Dust by Matthew Harrop

another human being, and now that he had a beautiful girl in front of him he could not think of a single thing to say. His mind stuttered, still recovering from its near death minutes earlier. “Hello,” he finally managed.
    “You can talk,” she replied.
    “Yes,” David said, still flabbergasted.
    “Are you all right?”
                  “I don’t know.” David paused and thought for a moment. “Am I dead?”
                  “What?” she said.
                  “I mean, are you… an angel, or something?”
                  The girl laughed and shook her head. “That’s very flattering but I think you’re alive.”
                  “Hmm.” David looked down. Returning her gaze, he went on. “I thought I was the only one left.”
                  “Only what?” the girl questioned.
                  “Person. I haven’t seen anyone else for…” He had to think about how long it had been; time had lost all meaning for him, “… almost two years now, I think.”
                  “Really?” She said this as if it weren’t really surprising. He looked up at her, curiosity building behind the thin wall of patience in his mind, threatening to bull over his better judgment. “There’s no one else out here?”
                  “Where did you come from…?” he almost whispered, wondering aloud. His voice began to rise. “I thought I was about to be the end of the human race. I was lying there, thinking this was the end, but apparently I was wrong,” he said, as much to himself as to her.
                  “I suppose you w-”
                  “Where did you come from?” he interrupted. The dam was breaking.
                  “Where did I come from?” she repeated. “I was just out here like you, looking for other people.”
                  “So you live out here somewhere…?” he prodded, gesturing at the woods.
                  “Not exactly.” She hesitated. “I came out here on my way to the city. I thought maybe I could find some other survivors there, or maybe further on. I heard there might be some on the other side. There weren’t though. At least not any that I could find.”
                  David’s mind was reeling. His thoughts whirled in a cloud of confusion, though there was some relief in knowing that he wasn’t the only one left after all. There was a girl standing in front of him, a beautiful, blonde girl, on the same quest as he, looking for people, chasing down something she heard.
    Something she heard.
    “There are others?” he blurted out.
    “I haven’t found anyone but you actually.”
    “But, I mean, someone told you there might be others out here. So wherever you came from, there are more people?” His eyes were wide and his mouth had curved itself into a manic grin.
    “Well, there’s a few of us, yeah,” she said haltingly, taking a step back.
    Joy bloomed in David’s chest, sending warmth coursing through his veins. There were others. He wasn’t alone. Suddenly his near fatal depression seemed silly. There was a group of people out there; he could find them, live with them, start a new life with them. He didn’t have to be alone anymore. He looked back at her to say something else and realized that she had continued to back away from him. Why was she doing that? Didn’t she know how long he had wandered like a ghost through this god-forsaken place, waiting to die, wanting his pointless existence to end? Now he had found her, or she had found him, and his life had a purpose again. He realized in an instant that he had to go with her, had to find these other people. He couldn’t go back to being alone.
    First he had to say something to keep her here. “I just can’t believe it,” was all that came out.
    She nodded, looking down at him. Her stomach rumbled and her empty hand