The moment that tip of the gun jammed straight into the giant one’s eye socket a short scream gushed from his throat as hot steel bullet pierced straight through his eye,brains,skull and took a bow as it exited out the back of his quite large cranium.

The rest ran scattering past the frozen crowds of shoppers, junkies and neighboring people hanging outside their houses on a hot summer’s eve. I smiled and walked on. My downtime is important to me. Perhaps the most important thing to me that I have left after years of losing bits and pieces of myself here and there throughout life’s sometimes unjustifiable hard times. But a part of me still has the last little bit of decency and common sense.

I guess I’ll stop at Bella’s house and take her out for a nice quiet reserved dinner. And then take her on home and break passionate sweat as we make love and become one again for the rest of this night. Tomorrow is another day in the life of the rising streets bellowing and beckoning for the last straw of my patience. I’ll always give it to them.

                                                                                * * * * *

A block away was her apartment so I stopped by a little neon lit convenience store and bought her some flowers and a candy bar. That’s about as romantic as I get. I paid the cashier which was a little Indonesian lady with a white gold necklace that read a unique and exotic name, ‘Saira’. I complimented on her name and she told me it was the name of her youngest daughter that had died short of 6 months ago. The little girl was 10 when she was viciously kidnapped and murdered. So, while her killer is still at large in this godforsaken city or elsewhere, her mom was a slave to the everyday grind in the work life of an average struggling to make ends meet citizen.

Bella’s apartment was right across the street from the store and as I walked out, I could see only the bedroom light was lit. It was I guess a little odd but nothing was ordinary about my Bella. Slowly I paced myself along the winding stairs up to the 3rd floor. Rapped a knuckle lightly against her front door a few times and waited in tired anticipation. No answer. I tried the door and it was unlocked so I made myself welcome and entered ninja-like. I blend with the shadows along the walls and sneak past the first 2 rooms till I come upon the bedroom door. Without knocking, I tried the door again and found my way through. There she was. Laid stretched full In bloom across the king size bed, like she was waiting to pounce her unaware prey. “There’s the most beautiful girl in the free world” I said as I eyed her naked body from head to toe. I gave her the flowers and her favorite candy bar and she said “You’re such a hopeless romantic numb nut”. How can anyone argue with that I thought and I kissed her.

We made love a few times this night for the first time in days. Around 3 A.M. we found our way into the curves of each others arms and drifted deep into slumbering mellow sleep. Heaven isn’t too far away was the last floating thought in my mind before the sandman buried me in sleep.