A Passage in Her Journal

the sky had a 2:1 ratio of
blue over black for now
'One Way' signs seemed to
be on every other block
a familiar car glides to
the same beat of the girl's
strides-
she's been followed for the
past five minutes or so

the windows were tinted so
dark; she was surprised the
driver never got a ticket
like a dog seeking a master
the vehicle took turns rolling
behind her
as well as next to her
but it never went ahead

any other day, she would
have been annoyed and told
the driver to "Fuck Off!"
while running away-
that's ironic
today she was running away to
flee her troubles at home
her duffel bag with a pink
teddy bear's head sticking
out started to get heavy
already
but she was doing fine until
that car showed up

on impulse she stopped and the
car stopped as well
she nearly touched the door
handle but thought twice
the shiny chrome was getting
dimmer as the night was
banishing the day to a far away
corner
a street light flashed but she
was barely able to make out a
silhouette
the driver never moved from his
sitting position

she started to walk backwards
keeping her eye on the car-
it never moved an inch
she couldn't tell if the driver
was looking at her from the rear
view mirror or was about to exit
the motorized lodging
all she knew was the trace of
temptation to investigate was
replaced by a gut reaction to
return home
that flash of heat that shot down
her chest towards her inner thighs
earlier turned cold

suddenly the problems at home became
more trivial as she retraced her steps
back to her safe haven
the car remained in it's spot and she
wondered if it would find her again
should she decide a week's punishment
was too much to bear

maybe she was as spoiled as everyone said...