Unfocused eyes stare at passing clouds.

Unseeing.

Mirrors into a soul several hours departed.

Predators can be heard trying to get closer, but they’re unsure and scurry and scourge, hidden by the sparse prickly growths that defy the laws of nature to grow out here in this deserted desert full of millions of unseen wonders. The criss-cross pattern left by the departed car tyres are baked solid under the heat and glare of the sun creating an unnatural terrain for the local insect population. High above, floating on invisible convection currents, carrion draw out circles in the sky.

Unfocused eyes.

As blue as the morning sky.

Unseeing.

Circled by black lashes gummed together with cheap mascara.

A soft breeze skips across the sandy earthy ruffling up leaves and dirt and sand. Playfully lifting the edges of her skirt. Messing up her hair.

Unfocused eyes.

Past caring for untidy coiffure.

Pinpricks of red dotting the iris. Light energy no longer converted into electrical impulses and whisked away along these optic nerves. Unfocused eyes whose last visions had seen hope and kindness turn to anger and hate.

Momma had warned her about the perils of hitching but she’d a twenty in her purse and who knew how long it’d take her to find it a mate.