(Published at The Writers Club)
A pounding at the door
seized my chest and me upright.
I tumbled out of bed,
wiping a sleepless night from
my eyes.
I flipped the porch
light on and open the door
to this woman hugging herself
in a shivering downpour,
a damp strand of hair stuck to her face,
jean shorts hugged her thighs,
and she wore a hoodie.
She missed her stop,
she said after beating
on my door.
She told me a guy was after her.
I swallowed my reservations,
ushering her inside.
What the man wanted,
the woman wouldn’t say.
Of the coffee I gave her,
she took long sips.
The inquiry of her black eye drew laughter
as she explained fighting through neighborhoods
in the hood and suburbia.
She removed her hood
and shook her hair out of the ponytail.
“Sara!” My jaw dropped. “You’re running from—”
“Told you I’d find you.”
(© 2022 AC)
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