63. The Entourage.

It was freeing to be out, but she felt guilt regardless. Her usual entourage, clamouring. sticky hands, needy voices, attention seekers, were missing. In the brief time away from them she felt good, independence lent itself easily to her. But her thoughts would stray, what they were doing, what they were eating, were they missing her. She stemmed the guilt and bought them new socks.

62. Exit

It looked forbidding even at her petite 8-year-old stature. The “Do Not Cross This Line” spelled “Go” to her as it crossed her eyelevel delineating right from wrong. Of course this just made her want to do it more. This attitude would come in handy as an adult. As a child, she was a rebel, who made her poor mother exasperated.

61. The illusionist

They were all taken in by him. He knew that and took full advantage of his talent to have his audience in a trance. Though his own mind often drifted; what he would eat after the show, was the costuming congruent, were the musicians with him or against him. But he never flinched or let that escape show. It was amazing what you could convince people of with smoke, lights and the drone of a rhythm he thought. As he scanned the audience with an intense stare, he decided definitely fried chicken tonight.

60. Lite Brite

He lay motionless cursing modern technology. They had said his hip would be better than ever. Liars. The feeling of his body slowly giving out on him was bizarre. He felt all its bits held together like a robot, the kind he used to win trophies for at the Statewide Science Fair. He was tormented by his lively mind stuck in this decrepit shell. Maybe the lady who smelled of cakes from 4F would come by, she always took the stairs.

59. Bodka

It felt like he was forcing it on me. He was trying to coax some other personality out of who I usually was. A bottle of courage wasn’t going to do it. I knew what I needed, it wasn’t him, loud music or smooth booze. But what I wanted was another story. He had no idea what he was about to unleash.

58. Soostalan

She couldn’t explain to anyone why she loved him, she just did. Over the years she had questioned herself; he couldn’t cook, he left a whirlwind mess around him, he hated being social and loved hip hop. If they were mismatched in their tastes what was left over was super connectedness. Plus he was the best lover she’d ever had.

57. Slit

If he fixed his eyes and focused then everyone would think he was fine. He envisioned his life beyond this group and it’s cloying darkness. He hadn’t figured out how to extricate himself and find somewhere else to go, though he was dying to. The fantasy of making new friends was appealing. Then he wondered if it was the booze talking and he was over-thinking it all.

56. Elevator

She wanted to go though knew she shouldn't. The decision held more weight to her than to anyone else. The draw and release was in her power in that singular moment that moved slower than any other she'd experienced. She heard them laughing from inside, freely giggling. And realized the invitation was more benign than she imagined.

55. Kealan

She usually wasn't needy. But tonight she decided it couldn't be miscontrued since she was getting what she wanted. It had taken so long, she had repressed volumes, and now it was clear how to let it out. In her own measured way so no one would suspect a thing. It was her truth and her time. Luckily for her, they accepted it without question.

54. Motel

She had come for him. This place had nothing to do with her and every aspect of it stung her skin. She only felt herself if he was there, and now he wasn’t. It was crippling. The idea of creating a new environment for herself was more than she could bear. She got in her Mustang and drove back to the city.

53. Sao Paulo Trees

She lay in wait to join the rest. Few would even notice the unveiling, just the ones who built her with their sheer ideas that came to limestone life. Her final resting place was to be here and she would live out her long days slowly becoming elegantly decayed. It was useless desire to ever be the maiden again.

52. Tattoo girl

She did it to keep people away. The staring was a surprise and something she had learned to deal with. She was expert at averting her eyes and as a result found it hard to connect with anyone. The people she wished to let in took her at face value and that led to a sad, insular, loneliness. It was a shame because she was soft and endearing.

51. Apartment terrace

Their life seemed dreamy, full of sparkle and shine. It was so different from hers, which felt drab and melancholy in comparison. She watched their dinner parties, their little arguments that always ended in romantic bedroom escapades. She became the ultimate voyeur, though to her it was more like becoming obsessed with a TV soap. Then one day their flame spluttered and it became ugly. She never knew that they started to watch and dream of her mundane life, because she had stopped watching them long ago.

50. Bus Stop

He wanted to talk to her desperately. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen her, just the first time he had a clear unchallenged view. She was clueless of course, but that only added fuel to the unrequited romance he conjured in his mind. He would never talk to her, just imagine for years what it would be like. Then the bus arrived and it wasn’t his.

49. Traffic

His legs stuck to the vinyl seats slicked in sweat even though it was barely midday. His driver’s side arm was already sun burnt and coated in the dust of the city. But it felt normal to him. The rusted out hulk of brick canyons was home and he had no problem being shoved down its valleys on his never-ending route. It was the cacophony of bleating horns that bothered him. So he shoved his ear buds in tighter to block it out.