One knee oozed slow blood; she’s cut it on a steel abutment. A stitching pain lived in her side. She ran. There was a high lovers’ moon and the night was full of shapes. Shadows slid on shadows. When had she crossed the river? Was it last night or the night before? Where was she now? She didn’t know. Off to her right she could see an unending length of metalmesh beyond a stretch of dead asphalt. Far out on the pavement sea was a cluster of teeter-swings. An industrial nursery; it had to be Stoneham or Sunrise. Perhaps her baby was there! She veered to the left, away from the mesh, into the deep night-black between buildings. Abruptly she found her passage blocked by a high board barrier. She turned. Maybe she could double back over the river. If she could only rest. Wait! She froze, remained motionless.
