Goodbye and See You Never
She stood right in front of me, the faint fragrance she carried cutting straight through my chest.
The dressing room lights flickered, shadows overlapping, and in the mirror I saw our silhouettes so close that they were almost one.
Her fingers brushed through the ends of my hair without thought, until the emcee's countdown carried in from the stage.
"It's time."
She stepped back half a pace, looking at me with absolute focus.
"Remember. Tonight, every clap is for the bird that broke free of its cage."
By curtain call, I was leaning back, beer in hand, watching Lilian mingle under the rain.