You thumb often?
He couldn’t think of
much else to ask.
In his rearview he saw that
her face had a big purple
bump on it
and it was getting darker
by the minute.
She twisted her hair
in her fingers. Air blew
from the open
window and carried strands
across her lips
catching as they blew.
No. This is my first
time. Her eyes looked
wet. Why don’t you
find a station to listen
to? I don’t know what’s good
no more. He grasped at things to
fill the silence.
While she scanned the white
noise he kept his eyes
on the desert road
and the growing grey
on the horizon.
fallen staircase 