The last time she saw him was in this cracked reflection. The abandoned general store window had been marked with a series of jagged cuts. A tree branch from across the street had smacked into it during a storm a few years back. Nothing has really changed since. The same street lies quiet and cold with only broken dreams remaining. The young woman gazed into the same cracked window and shuddered when she saw her own reflection emerge. She despised this place and wanted nothing to do with him; but she could never out run her past. While history can be forgotten, mistakes can forever haunt the future. Giving a grieving sigh, she sat down gripping her beat-up white purse over her shoulder on the familiar rusty bench that stands guard alone outside the old store. Always empty. The young woman looked up at the setting sun. Soft pink and orange hues flooded Main Street, briefly exposing the life this town once had. The boarded up doors glistened in the sun’s rays, casting a metallic shimmer on the damp concrete. It had stopped raining hours ago, but the overgrown weeds left a soggy paste on the sidewalks. The young woman glanced down at her watch. He was running late, again.
Figures, she remarked to herself.
The dusty street lamp flickered on, illuminating a single spotlight just for her. The young woman shifted in her seat.
Where is he? she wondered.
She stood back up and began to pace back and forth, all the while glaring back at the broken window. She could still trace hidden lines of his haunting face near the right, top corner of the glass. It was his eyes that first caught her attention. Even in the dark, his hazel eyes managed to pierce through the reflection, mocking her. Rubbing her eyes quickly, the young woman backed away. She looked back at the street and tried to remember what it looked like before the scorch marks destroyed it. People walked around proudly back then. Small businesses were finally booming down here for once and it gave the locals hope—that they could go farther in this world. Life had never been so exciting. But, no one had ever mentioned the lies. No one thought to question where the money came from. It took just a few people to break off the street’s mask and expose the years of fraud. Of course, money started to disappear and that’s when everyone got a little desperate. It took one simple protest for Main Street to go up in flames.
The memories were still raw in her mind, but she was determined to shake off the fear. Tonight was it. It had been two years since they last met, and tonight would finally end it all. At least, that was the plan.
She checked her watch again. Ten minutes had passed and there was still no sign of him. Darkness crept around her, blackening the windows. Now, only a cloudy spotlight lit the empty street. Suddenly, the young woman stopped her breath for a moment while slowly sitting back down. The déjà vu had caught her off guard. The street lamp. The bench. The cracked window. And that’s when she saw him standing in the same spot, next to the single tree across the street from her. He looked exactly the same. His dark shaggy hair still partially covered the right side of his forehead. His stocky figure still seemed to hover just above the ground. And his eyes still seemed to shine brighter than the stars. The young woman felt the few butterflies in her stomach shrivel and die, as she recognized the same dark jacket spread across his broad shoulders, fully concealing the foul creature underneath.
The brisk wind snapped her attention back to the cruel reality. Without saying a word, she grabbed her purse and started walking up to him. A smirk crossed his lifeless face.
“Good to see you again,” he said.
“You’re late.”
“My bad,” he shrugged, “I ran into some last minute problems, but I’m here now.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, vanilla envelope. He began to hand it to her, when he stopped.
“You have it, right?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said glaring at him.
Spreading her bag open, the man could see a 9mm handgun resting inside.
“Just checking,” he said with an eerie smile and gave the young woman the envelope. “I promise this is the last one.”
The man extended his hand forward and the young woman shook it steadily while nodding her head. A faint odor of cinders filled the air between them. Giving a final salute to her, the man walked off into the dark street and disappeared once again. The young woman looked down at the envelope. Tears welled up in her eyes. Clearing her throat, she opened it up and took out a piece of paper. A single name etched in red ink laid on it. She quickly folded the paper and envelope back up and shoved it into her bag.
Just one more and that’s it. Just one more, she repeated in her head.
Turning around, she walked off and entered the darkness herself.
One more, she thought.
Echoes of her boots bounced back and forth on the pavement. Then, the dead silence settled back onto the street—alone, but not forgotten.
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