RAMONA

Memories of summer filled her head. The season offered her more than just sunshine, there was also the promise of freedom. A twenty year old road atlas was her only reference and it was really just an excuse to get lost. So long as she followed the yellow line she would get somewhere eventually. Ultimately though it didn’t matter, anywhere was good enough so long as the wheels kept spinning she was in a good place.

A text message pulled her back to reality. She glanced at her phone and was devastated to discover it was already two o’clock. Outside the wind held the rain captive against the window. She stood up from
her chair and put on her navy pea coat. A voice from the other side of the Berlin
Wall called out, “Will you be coming back this time?”

Ramona ignored the voice the way she did his friend requests and left the cluttered office.  She took the stairs instead of the lift. Walking outside into the gray she stepped in line with the clockwork masses that marched through the rain. There was a time when she didn’t feel so alone. When cocaine kisses and hope for the future clouded her perception of the way things actually were.

Nelson’s Column seemed like a good place to meet but in the cold rain it felt like miles from her office. He was waiting for her when she arrived, his wet hair falling on his face. He leaned into kiss her but she turned away and spoke softly to the air, “When Pluto was a planet, do you remember what I said to you?”

Looking back towards him she was uncertain if it was a tear or a drop of rain sliding down his face.


They avoided the main streets following a maze north to a tiny bar off of Charing Cross Road. She had been here so many times she knew every scratch in the wood of their table. His blue eyes looked through her.

“Do you feel the way I do?” he asked.

She poked at the ice in her gin and soda. Everything faded away as she focused on the yellow line.