My side hurt so badly it seemed to be tearing. Sweat fell in drops. In the nooks and crannies of the railroad in the vacant lot behind the convenience store under the overpass- the girl was nowhere to be found. I had even run to the bus stop, but as expected I didn’t see her. The people waiting for their buses looked at me strangely. What had happened? We hadn’t promised to meet, but it was still strange. That girl always appeared from somewhere and followed me around. Even if I told her it was annoying, it was no use. But now she was nowhere to be found, even in the places we used to go together.
I came to a familiar wall and slowed my steps. There was graffiti there we had drawn together. It was the first thing she had ever drawn. On top of it there was a large ‘X’ drawn. It was her. I hadn’t seen her do it, but I knew. Why? There was no response. Instead, several after images overlapped on the wall.
Her laughing at me after I had lain down on the railroad tracks and hit my head. Her helping me up after I’d fallen trying to help her run away, her angry expression when we passed in front of a photo studio with a family photo in the window. Her gaze following the students we passed by, unbeknownst even to her. As we had sprayed this wall together I had said, “If you have a problem tell me about it, don’t just grumble to yourself.” The ‘X’ was drawn over all of those memories. It seemed like it was saying all of it was fake. I had made my hands into fists. Why? Of course there was no response. I kept walking. We were alone again. Me and her.