Madeline Kraemer
"Mad Maddie"
25 yrs old

Maddie has a very complicated bio, so here's a summary- Everyone knows her as Mad Maddie. She is an misunderstood oracle who was locked up in an asylum for being well... crazy out of her damn mind. She offers her services as a street-vender, only charging $1 to allow her to tell you a tragedy. Very few people heed her warnings, others come after her life after the tragedy happen. Blaming and accusing her of causing the tragedy. She doesn't have a family or anybody to care about her, and she only cares about surviving and helping those who heed her warnings...

...

Ezra Channing
28 years old

Born into a rich family, Ezra is used to the finer things in life, living in a spacious penthouse in the posh part of town. This does not mean he is spoiled or a snob. He is very non-judgmental and chooses to observe people before drawing conclusions about them. He's kind and polite, and has a very strong work ethic. He works as a curator at an art gallery, and is also well known as an artist. His relationship with his parents is perfect, although he wished his mother would stop sending him on blind dates to meet women.

It was night, and Ezra was closing up the gallery to go home. He was the Director of the Ainsley Museum of Art, where they were planning another exhibit by a well-respected elderly artist, who chose to be known simply as Ahn. After locking up the place, he got into his car, which was waiting for him outside the gate.

His phone buzzed; he fished it out to see a text from his mother.

Mother: We're here at the Radisson, honey. When will you be here?

Ezra had promised to meet his parents for dinner that night. He typed out his response:

Ezra: Just locked up. I'll be there in fifteen.

The car had run into some traffic, but he wasn't very concerned. He would still reach on time.

@xnovax:

The car pulled up in front of the restaurant, and Ezra got out, ready to go in. He briefly saw a figure dart past and beyond the side of the restaurant, disappearing behind the wall. It had happened too quickly, and he couldn't get a good look at them, whoever they were. Ezra looked in that direction; he thought he may have vaguely made out long, dark locks. Realizing he was going to keep his parents waiting, he walked inside.

His parents smiled on seeing him, but the smile Ezra returned was only half hearted, for at the same table were three other people. He recognized them to be a name partner of the law firm his father was another name partner of. Gambrell, Martin and Channing LLP. The one seated at the table was Harvey Gambrell, and he was seated next to his wife and eligible daughter. Ezra could see where this was going, and he didn't like it. He sat at the table, giving everyone his greetings, and prepared himself for what was probably going to be a long dinner.

@xnovax:

By the time Ezra was done with dinner, he was exhausted to the point of wanting to collapse right there on the street, never mind the rain that was pouring hard and threatening to freeze anyone who stood out in it for too long. Time and time again, he had asked his mother not to set up these meetings with women she considered to be eligible bachelorettes, but she never listened. Coming away from these meetings, smiling and nodding along politely while possibly saying a charming line or two (always aimed at the parents, never the bachelorette), was mentally draining. He'd much rather be at the art gallery working, or in his studio, painting something.

He was the last to leave, waving politely at the ones who went home, one by one. He sighed, thankful that it was over. He would have to have a chat with his mother about springing surprises on him like that.

Something flickered in him, some sort of instinct or intuition, he wasn't sure. But it made him turn his head to look at the wall, behind which that figure had disappeared earlier. He looked at the street; the valet was going to take a while to show up with his car. He walked over to the side, and saw a woman crouched down, freezing.

"Oh my goodness," he immediately removed his blazer and wrapped her in it, hoping it would keep her warm. "Miss, are you alright?"

@xnovax:

His expression turned grim as he heard her speak. She sounded weak, her voice almost inaudible over the rain. Moreover, she sounded like someone who was far too used to things like this, to living in dire conditions. He couldn't explain it, but it felt as though a knife was being plunged into his heart and twisted around.

He stood up straight and looked at the street, and saw that his car had arrived, and was waiting for him. He stared at him for a while, before looking back at the woman. He then crouched down next to her, so he could speak to her at eye level.

"Would you be okay coming with me?" he asked her, trying to be cautious in the way he phrased his sentences. One wrong word, and he could come across as a creep, which was the last thing he wanted. If he'd had a single female friend who'd be willing to take her in, he'd have made a call and arranged for her to stay there for a night, but he had none. "I... don't like the idea of you sitting out here in the cold like this, you could freeze."

@xnovax:

Her question made him seriously reconsider his actions; he understood how this might have looked to her. But there was something, some odd feeling in his gut that told him she needed to help her. He sighed deeply, thinking hard about how to go about this.

"Look, I know how this must sound, so at the very least, let me help you find some place to stay for the night. And if there's nowhere I can at least put you up somewhere, if you're not comfortable going to a stranger's home."

@xnovax:

Ezra had no idea how to respond to what she was saying. It was true, he knew; most people really wouldn't worry about a homeless person freezing in the rain. It made him wonder why that was. Why were people not willing to help out when they saw people struggling? Wouldn't they want someone to do the same for them when they needed it.

He began to realize how sheltered he was, right from childhood. His entire life, he'd gone to the most expensive schools, and then gone on to go to art school, where many of his peers were exactly like him: rich and well-connected. Even now, as a working man, he hadn't so much as glanced at the other side, where people struggled to find a meal to eat in a day. He felt stupid.

She stood, her face no longer covered in shadow, and he noticed her eyes; they were dichromatic, one a light blue, the other a darker shade. He placed a hand on her back, gently guiding her towards his car, opening the door for her to sit.

When they were both seated, he placed a call to Raisa, the housekeeper. The call was audible through the speaker of the car; Ezra hated touching his phone while driving.

"Yes, Master Ezra?"

"Raisa, could you have the guest room prepared, please? I'm bringing someone home with me, and they'll need to stay the night. Also, if you could arrange for some warm clothes for a lady, that would be great."

@xnovax:

"Oh jeez, where are my manners?"

In the flurry of activity and the worry, Ezra had forgotten to ask her for her name, and give her his. He turned towards her, a polite and charming smile on his face.

"Ezra Channing," he said. "Nice to meet you, Maddie." He faced the road again, not wanting to take his eyes off it for too long.

"Where do you usually live, when you manage to catch the shelters? Is there one you go to often, or something like that?"

@xnovax: