The Face for Main Street

She was a worn out, too-big, sweatshirt and worn in blue jeans. She was no make-up and red rimmed eyes, swipes of grime across her peach colored skin. I don’t know who she was to the world, to Reality, but to me she was absolutely, perfectly, beautiful.

I took a step toward the old looking bus stop bench that her thin body lay pressed against. The shadows hid my body, something of a relief for someone like me. The flickering street lamp was the only light in this in-between place, its yellow glow bathed only a few feet in front of her and behind her in light.

This was a place only Travelers and their guardians were allowed, a place someone like me had especially no business being. A place that Regulars, like myself, should be careful in, for fear of aforementioned guardians. But I couldn’t stay away, not from someone as special as her. She was the dangerous flame to my moth-self. I was just as grotesque looking as a moth, so mayhap it was a fitting metaphor after all.

Throwing mostly all of my caution to the wind, I took another step forward. And then another, and another, and another, all the while edging closer to her, drawn to the radiance of her soul. The pure emotion of her grief, and sorrow, and hope pouring into this place, into me. My foot distractedly fell, a ragged and nervous, excited breath slipped through my chapped lips. Nervous, that is, to see her reaction to me. Excited, of course, at the thought of actually speaking to someone like her.

Her tiny body stiffened, the sobs that had been tormenting her body disappeared, and her attention moved from her emotions to the outside world. Had she heard me? Had my breath betrayed me, or my clumsy step? Whatever it was, the taste in the air changed from sad and depressed to terrified. I could feel her heart beat, the adrenaline jetting through her veins and arteries, soaking in to make her tense up.

“Who’s there? Wha-what do you want with me, huh?” She stood up, unfolding her small body and taking a fierce stance.

“Haven’t you lot done enough to me? Aren’t you SATISFIED YET?” She was screaming to the in-between world, though I was the only one to hear her fury, as it had turned into. I stepped as far back into the shadows as I could, and steadied myself.

“I’m a friend; I promise you I won’t do anything to hurt you. Why don’t you just tell me who you are?” I asked, my voice just barely managing to sound steady and calm. How else am I to feel besides tense and shaky when confronted by a woman throwing a tantrum with emotions jumping up and down like a menopausal mood swing? She took a slow steady breath in and a slow steady breath out before turning to face where my voice had come from. She was looking right at me, it seemed, even though I knew she couldn’t see through the dark.

“Honestly? I have no fucking clue anymore.”