There was a lapse in the chaos. The black slowly faded away, revealing a rainy grey world in slow motion. The girl adjusted her weight in her seat and blankly surveyed her surroundings. Distant laughter met her ears as smiling faces exchanged bright-eyed glances, and everywhere lips parted in cheerful conversation. Voices mingled and blended into some version of harmonious discord; providing accompanament to the heavy drumming of rain on the windows. The bus floor vibrated beneath her feet and forced her into an uncomfortable state of thoughtless attention.

The girl rested her face against the window. The air's icy chill slowly crept from the cold glass and clung to her skin. Her neck began to prickle as an involuntary shudder left her shivering. Leaning away, she continued to observe faces. Most wore expressions of contentment. Here and there were flashes of impatience and irritation, concern creased a forehead nearby, and weariness pulled down the edges of a mouth further away. Every face bore some form of readable expression. They were all so simply interpreted--easily understood.

Wait. The girl's attention was instantly focused. There...in the rearview mirror, a pair of dark blue eyes returned her gaze evenly from a pale, thin face. The girl's sharp intake of breath surprised herself as she continued to study the stranger's countenance. It bore an unmistakably haunted emptiness, but the eyes swirled with unassurance, as if each moment issued a new revelation in its reign.

Suddenly, they dulled as comprehension swept in like a storm and slammed the glirl mercilessly against the barren shore of harsh reality. She felt herself lost to its undertow as she closed her eyes, surrendered, and sank back into the blackness.

The face belonged to her.