Another Roadside Adventure

Once again, I was walking in the road, this time against the traffic on a suburban one-way street with no sidewalk. Coming toward me were a kid on the same side and some cars. He reached me first, and stepped up the curb into the grassy border. Subservience? I thought; seemly regard for our obvious age difference? But then I realized that his behavior might well be entirely rational. In various-vehicle-versus-elapsed-time space, my Zone of Death embraced his: he was sheltering in my shadow.