The Woman

"Why are you dressed like someone died?"

There was an old woman with silver hair and eyes like stone, walking the streets of the city. She might have once been called beautiful in the past. But time had slowly turned her into an ugly old crone.

She walked with a hunch and clasped her cane with a death-like grip. In her other hand was a medium sized red handbag. She wore an old fashioned black dress which barely touched the ground. Although you couldn't see it, she was not wearing any shoes.

Many people would have said she looked old and feeble, and a couple of youths thought this as well, for they had picked her as a target. They followed her through the city until she turned left into a deserted, darkened alley way.

"Hey, lady." Said the older, taller one who was in serious need of some dental work "What's in the bag?". His partner, a pimply boy with what was meant to be a mustache, chuckled.

Although the two couldn't see it in the darkened street, the old woman had a sinister smile on her face.

"What's the magic word?" She said in a hoarse voice with a large dose of confidence that did not seem a fit for her current predicament.. This seemed to confuse the older boy, but the confusion quickly turned to anger. The younger boy was too full of adrenaline and crack cocaine to notice anything but the thirst for crime.

"Drop it, you old hag!" Said the older boy, as the smaller one brought out a quite pitiful looking pocket knife.

She turned to face them. Her eyes were glowing a soft, ominous blue. One minute, she was a harmless, aged woman, the next she was a silvery blue specter who shone with a bright yet contradictory dull cold aura.

The dying screams of the boys could hardly be heard from the busy bustle of the rest of the city.

A few minutes later, a beautiful young woman in an old fashioned black dress and holding a medium sized red handbag, walked out of an alley with a sinister smile on her face.

The Friday Oracle, on page 26, no picture displayed, right next to a penis enlargement vitamin advertisement. Written by Mary Conturi.

"On Tuesday the 22nd, 2009, Two young men with a history of criminal charges, Marvin Brockfield and Trevor Ions, were found dead at the back of Mozerias Pizza Emporium, near the dumpster. Their faces were shaped in a horrible expression. No witnesses have come forward. The only lead was a discarded walking stick with a carved head shaped resembling the ancient Greek character of Medusa. Police were unwilling to comment."