S M O K E

5. Ink

I don’t know how I wound up wanting to finish work just so I could stand on the curb.
but it had happened before  I knew it.

The girl emerged from the café finishing off a coffee
her other hand was balancing a cigarette
today she seemed to be giving off that gothic-don’t-touch-me vibe

Her lips, sunglasses, jewellery, dress and boots were all the same shade of inky black
her hair was undone and blew in the slight breeze

I had to know her name
if not just for the fact that I wanted to know more about her
but I needed to stop referring to her as her or ‘the girl’