The night deepens as she walks.

The street empties. Shop lights fade.

Heels on concrete the only sound.

Click and scrape with each footfall.

A faun with a lion’s mien.

A girl in a woman’s shape.

Lost her way, lost in shadow.

Lost her will. (Never had it.)

Her lighter sparks. She drags deep.

The cherry blooms, the smoke slithers.

This is how her world ends.

Lights behind her burst to life.

Her eyes widen, naught else moves.

Startled and frozen, lazy man’s prey.

An engine growls and tires squeal.

Her hair whips in the breeze.

Doors fly open, hands seize her.

(The hands all have men attached.)

They don’t speak, but they demand.

The lion roars. The faun breaks.

The cigarette falls to the pavement.

Her only trace, a dying ember.