When it's cold I'd like to die.

Here I am,
alone.
At the end of the world.
I hear footsteps coming.
I search for beauty,
there is none.
I'm afraid.
Soon the world will end.

I desperately, silently shuffle my feet without noticing.
I stop.
I take a deep breath.
I open my eyes.
I see her.
My heart races.
Frown.
Half-twisted smile.
I touched her in my dreams.
A fly buzzes around her head.

How careless of me.

They saw me, I'm sure of it. Heard the thrashing about, the muffled screams, cut off by a crushed windpipe.

The couple crossing the street. The shy girl in the green dress along with her drunk alpha male whore who must've only wanted to fuck her and dump her down the toilet along with the used condom. That sick fuck. I could have treated her nicely... I could have whispered her name in her ear as I softly thrust myself inside of her. I would have been gentle. I'm a real man, THE real man. Man of men. Nobody knows it. Nobody trusts me.

They didn't see me. The alley is dark, dark like my outfit, carefully chosen earlier tonight to blend in the shadows. There they go, off they go in a downward spiral of shame and filth, of quick sex and unreturned phone calls. Poor girl. I could have saved her.

Back to business.

I can't stand the smell of the homeless. My heart races as I breathe slower while I dart my eyes to check for any witnesses. No blood this time. I'm getting better at this. I half-cover its body with some damp newspapers it probably used for wiping. I feel the urge to spit on its face, blood rushing to my own as I start to tremble from pure hatred. No DNA. Be clean, professional.

From its hand I take away the $5 I had used to lure it. I will get rid of my gloves later.

...

Feeling more calm, I decide to take the scenic route. I light a cigarette and take a deep, long drag. I walk into the dark streets as I let the darkness close in on me and hold me tight, like my mother used to do.