Black Glass

Reflection

My reflection stares back at me from the black glass of the high rise. I turn away from myself, sneering as my canvas sneakers scrape the ground. People pass around me from behind and in front like I'm the broken down lemon on the highway. Too slow and broken for the people in my direction, but to the others, if I crossed over, I would cause a catastrophe. Essentially ruining lives of those I've never met.

I'm bumped into from behind and the person walks on. I'm clipped from the side.
"Watch where you are going! Punk kids." Another patch of color drones in at me through the barrier. Isn't that what the barrier is there for? To keep that out? I turn my head to the dark glass as I grind across the cement. Dull green eyes stare back from a rejected hunched form.

It disappears across the edge of the building, leaving another side of me venerable. The color just keeps coming at me. I look down. The cracks seem inviting but unobtainable. Running along their own path of sheer force and use. I heave my head upwards. A girl looks up at me with pools for eyes and a slightly concerned look washing across her face. I never saw her approach me. She hugs me. I shrink. I'm trapped, and I panic. I try to pull away, and she lets me go.

Sorrow crashes over her, and pity reflects in her deep eyes. I'm ashamed of myself. She was giving me exactly what I needed, and I flinched away from her. She turns away, ready to vanish into the color, but I grab her by the hand and gaze into her eyes, telling her, 'I'm sorry and thank you,' without muttering a word.

I tug at her, and she floats into me. I embrace her. She fits me. Her warmth invades my skin, and I clutch her tight as she wraps around me. I feel her breathe on my chest through the thin cloth. She is tiny and fragile, but - but there is something more. Something deeper and stronger. She is different. For some reason she cares and has compassion for someone she has never known. And it hurts. It aches. But I can't get enough of it. It's like an addiction. The emotions rise up through me and over fill my brim. She looks directly up at me, and we separate. But we are close.