Kathy hesitated but eventually took off, and once she was gone, Jioni stood; she stood there and stared at nothing. She untied the flannel from her waist and dusted it off in the air. She then put it on. Jioni removed the scrunchie from her hair and tossed it to the side.
She positioned her braids to hide her lack of ear. Despite trying her hardest, she couldn’t style it to cover the cracks near her eye. Jioni took a breath. Her feet dragged against the ground as she walked home. But she stretched and reasoned with herself: a comforted relief knowing there was a way to hide the damage. She had peace knowing that Mayor Tracey was kind, but there’s no telling how she’d react to this. Jioni attempted to empty her mind of worry as she continued forward.
Night fell, and the stars were out. It was cold with a breeze, but Jioni couldn’t feel the gust on her. Her stroll was untroubled, but she could sense that something was off. There were more people in the streets this time than she had seen in her entire life.
