Assumptions

An old woman stands on the corner of 5th and Wall, a book of poetry in her tattered wool jacket.

1. She shouts to no one in particular.
2. She used to be famous. I heard it from the postman.
3. I think I knew her.
4. She was my teacher in first grade.
5. She was my Girl Scout leader.
6. She is my mother.
7. She is not my mother.
8. It’s me. I am on the street corner and I am all alone.
9. There is a white dog with scruffy fur in the alley. His front right paw is deformed and he limps. He is focused on his daily quest for food and sex.
10. I call him goat dog.
11. He protects me from the addicts.

Meanwhile, on the opposite corner.

A yellow haired man with whiskers is holding a fortune cookie and sobbing.

1. He’s loved her since the day they met, at the office Christmas party. She had her hair in a bun, loosely tied with a gold and red garland.
2. She doesn’t love him. She is ambivalent about love.
3. It is raining outside. They are too busy with their mental chess game to notice. He wants her.  She wants his job.
4. The office is on the 15^th floor and with a view of the street.
5. He has a cold and left his raincoat in the car.
6. She doesn’t have a cold.
7. He wants to get married and start a family. That’s all he’s ever wanted. Being promoted to Director was never in the plan.
8. He is terrified of ending up alone.
9. She’s terrified that this is all there is in life.
10. This is all there is in life.

by Sheree La Puma

Sheree is an award-winning Author, Producer, and Social Media Strategist. She holds an MFA in Critical Studies & Writing from California Institute of the Arts and has published articles/fiction/books on a myriad of topics. In addition, Sheree has over 30 years experience in the charitable non-profit sector, working as a social scientist, synthesizer, and wordsmith. In 2012, Sheree traveled to Ghana, Africa to meet with a child trafficking survivor. Changed by the experience, she spent the next two years writing about his journey. Passionate about women and the rights of the child, Sheree wants to reach out and inspire the voiceless.