4.11.2016

Page 11

She surveys the people around her.  They are shouting and pumping their fists in the air.  She tries to ask a question but gives up when she realizes even she can't hear her own voice.
When the noise stops, everyone drifts away.  Some men come and start taking down the stage.  All guards except two exit the fenced in staircase.  The referee hops down and disappears into an alleyway.
“A beautiful thing, isn't it?”
She turns slowly to see an unfamiliar face.  A man in his fifties is smiling at her.
“What’s beautiful?”
His smile diminishes.  “All that work he put in.  Years, probably.  And then it all comes true… you know, to fruition… to Ascension.”
“You mean his head getting cut off?”
The man looks around quickly.  “Don't be crass, friend!  Ascension is a holy moment!”
“Right.  Of course.”  She nods.  “I just haven't eaten much lately.”
He shakes his head and walks away quickly.  The crowd is gone.  The voting booth is empty.  The stage is in pieces and being packed into a truck.  She ducks into the first alley she sees and hides in the shadows.  Laying on top of a dry piece of cardboard, she curls herself into a ball and falls asleep.

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