
She lingered after hours so that she could stalk through midnight alleyways on her way home. She loved the smells seeping from those dusty corners. She loved the small creatures which shared her nocturnal inclinations. She ran her fingers across a greasy doorknob, a damp stone wall, a rusty trashcan. Collecting bits of mildew and funk. Delicate and beautiful as she was, these granules of the underside made a warrior of her. An unconquerable force. A cascade of soulful streetlight tried to catch her in its grip. But she danced out of its reach, and strode farther into the night.





