#191

not yet inured to the callousness of Western journalism, she cringed at the news report.

a young girl, a deadly car crash. "tragic accident" flashed on the screen, punctuated by pictures of a lithe blond in a denim miniskirt. "...kills teen" and then her visage, smiling.

the newscaster, with feigned emotion and an aptly placed touch on the mother's arm, repeated phrases like "what a horrible thing to happen to such a beautiful girl" and "sad story and such a pretty little thing", as if that mattered, then or now. as if beauty were somehow a justification for life. would anyone care if she were ugly?

what would the teleprompter read if she had bad hair and crooked, toothy smile, but had a beautiful and quiet heart?

she looked in the mirror and prayed that she wouldn't die young. the only thing worse than that, would be to have it go unnoticed.