• As the wind blows the leaves along the park path I walk, a lone figure sits on a bench. I walk by her and simply glance at her before walking on by. When I leave the park to walk home the image of her is embedded in my mind. I may have only had a glimpse of her but the picture in my mind was as clear as if she was standing right in front of me. She had dark hair that was permanently tangled as it flowed down her back, she was dressed in clothes that looked too small for her; her jeans came up to her calves and the shirt she was wearing was so tight she was slightly bent over to make sure the shirt didn’t rip completely. Her face was dirty to the point where it made her ice blue eyes pop out. She must’ve had a really hard life that led her to the point of running away for many years attempting to escape her past and survive. When I arrived at home I started thinking about what might’ve happened to her. I noted that she looked distracted and very observant of everything around her. Every little thing interested her; perhaps she was sheltered from the world, protected from the bad things but deprived of the beautiful things. I could never imagine a life like that and couldn’t even imagine what torture she must’ve endured. The very next day I walked the same path, passed the same bench, and saw the same woman. Sometimes we would look at each other and I would see the innocence behind the icy eyes, and I would flinch knowing that she didn’t know a thing about the world. Day after day, I saw her sitting on the same bench, until one day she wasn’t there. I felt a sense of loss as I realized she wasn’t coming back. I would go on with my life but I would never forget that innocent woman sitting on that bench.