Thousand Mile Stare

You know it when you see it.

Spirit broken, and soul empty. The mind is going at the speed of light, flickering through the myriad of awful images witnessed which brought the person to this horrible conclusion. It's like the body, this now hollow shell, is asking "What is there left to do or say?"

The strange thing was, I didn't see this myself on the battlefield. On the corner of 5th and Cherry this woman just stood there, staring. As corporate types and regular folk alike marched on by, emotionless and stiff she was. I couldn't help and think what brought her to this point; what hand did life deal her which led to such a jarring realization that now standing completely frozen in time became her fate. A strange sadness came over me as I began to piece my own version of what brought her to this place, and suddenly everyone around me seemed to walk slower, and cars once buzzing around us seemed to disappear. Sea gulls one by one began to shut up, and scattered vagrants ducked in alleyways. Before I knew it, literally nothing was in motion, or emitting sound.

Then...*flash*...some impatient motorist blasted their horn, sea gull shit splattered on the ground mere inches from me, and life seemed to re-enter the picture. Also, the woman in question was now halfway through the crosswalk, and I was even able to detect a smile on her face.

At this juncture I realized this woman merely was daydreaming, and I am one giant retard.