(short story)

She watched as the sun slowly rose above the high-rise buildings, painting their tops in golden-peach hues. The cool air burned her lungs a little with each breath, and the rough railing of the bridge she was standing on scratched the inside of her palm a little.

The echoes of the night’s explosions were still in her ears, and her mind was full of thoughts…

…Wow. It is so beautiful. I walk here every morning to work and never notice how beautiful it is. Shit, I still haven’t finished my report, and it’s due to the manager today. I could finish it now, of course, but… It’s so beautiful here. I just want to stand here all day and not move. And I love the way the lilacs smell here. It’s a little sweet and viscous… It reminds me of the scent of condensed milk that my grandmother used to make and a little bit of my mum’s perfume. I’m sure my mum has run out of perfume. I’ll have to buy some next time I go home. They will probably be so surprised when they see me… I’ve never had a haircut like this before. It will take them a long time to get used to it…

She was pulled out of her thoughts by her friend’s voice, who was gently tapping her shoulder: ‘Hey… Hey, are you here? Let’s go for a coffee, we need to cheer up. It was a long night, wasn’t it?’

‘Mh, yeah, it was. Right, we need coffee. Now.’ She smiled at her friend and pushed off the bridge railing, walking away. She still had one thought in her mind…

…It’s cool that I got this haircut. In any case, I could die beautifully.