She rounded the bend.
And stopped.
A man sat beside the road.
Not quite sitting.
More like collapsed against the trunk of a maple tree, one leg stretched into the grass and the other bent awkwardly beneath him.
He wore gray work pants, a faded blue shirt, and one muddy shoe.
The other shoe lay several feet away near the ditch.
His head rested against the bark.
His eyes were closed.
Lumi sat beside him.
The cat looked tiny against the man’s leg.
He lifted one paw.
Touched the fabric of the man’s pants.
Then looked directly at Evelyn.
For a moment, she could not move.
“Oh my God.”
She hurried forward.
“Sir?”
No response.
Lumi meowed.
Evelyn dropped to one knee.
Pain shot through it.
She ignored it.
“Sir, can you hear me?”
The man opened his eyes.
Barely.
They were dark brown and unfocused.
His lips moved.
Nothing came out.
Evelyn leaned closer.
“Are you hurt?”
The man swallowed.
“I’m…”
His voice broke.
Lumi moved nearer and sniffed his hand.
The man’s fingers twitched.
“Cat.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn looked at Lumi.
“Yes, that’s my cat.”
The man attempted to smile.
“He wouldn’t leave.”
Something cold moved through Evelyn’s chest.
“How long have you been here?”
The man closed his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know your name?”
He nodded faintly.
“Arthur.”
“Arthur what?”
“Bell.”
Evelyn pulled out her phone.
“I’m calling an ambulance.”
Arthur tried to lift one hand.
“No.”
It barely rose from the grass.
“You need help.”
“My car…”
“Where?”
“Down…”
He pointed weakly toward the hill.
“Broke.”
His arm dropped.
Evelyn called 911.
While the dispatcher asked questions, Lumi remained beside Arthur.
Not pacing.
Not crying.
Just sitting close enough that his shoulder touched the man’s leg.
Evelyn described the location.
Older male.
Conscious but weak.
Possibly dehydrated.
Unknown injury.
Dispatcher instructed her not to move him unless necessary.
“Ambulance is on the way.”
Arthur opened his eyes again.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Your evening.”
Evelyn almost laughed from nerves.
“You can ruin my evening as much as you need.”
He looked toward Lumi.
“Good cat.”
Lumi blinked slowly.
Evelyn stared.
“What happened?”
Arthur took several seconds.
“My car quit.”
“Where?”
“About a mile.”
“You walked from there?”
He nodded.
“Trying to get home.”
“Where is home?”
“Mill Creek.”
Evelyn frowned.
Mill Creek was not a street.
It was a neighborhood nearly four miles away.
“You walked from your car?”
Arthur closed his eyes again.
“Thought I could.”
Lumi suddenly stood.
He sniffed Arthur’s face.
Then pressed his head against the man’s arm.
Arthur’s fingers moved.
They touched the cat’s back.
“I sat down.”
“Couldn’t…”
His voice disappeared.
Evelyn took off the light sweater she had been wearing and folded it behind his head.
“Don’t talk.”
Sirens sounded faintly in the distance.
Arthur’s eyes opened again.
“Cat found me.”
Evelyn looked at Lumi.
“I think he did.”
Ten minutes later, an ambulance stopped along the shoulder.
Two paramedics stepped out.
A sheriff’s deputy arrived behind them.
Lumi fled at the slam of the ambulance door.