16

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She was tired.  Covered in blood, none of it her own, she replayed in her tired mind all the times she could remember the aliens picking her up.

            As much as she fled her destiny, it was always there, behind the cars, the capitol, the town lake, the water towers, moon towers, Pease park, the bark trees, the barbecue joints, the dirty men, the old dresser, the bathroom stall, under her bed, in her trunk, in her pillows, in the Gutenberg Bible, behind the frat boys faces, in all the syringes, the pale faces she woke up to, its always been there, etched in the stars.

            And just like the stars appear nightly, without fail, her stars came to her, right on time, not a minute too soon nor a minute too late.

            All good things come to an end and life on Earth was now over for Danielle.

            She looked to the east, saw the sun-light creeping over.  She looked up and winked.

            And there sat Danielle, on the corner of Cesar Chavez and Congress, at a bus-stop waiting for her spaceship to take her away, at twilight, weary.