She walked down the street,
a flash of orange amongst a sea of gray.
Her curly locks bobbed up and down like slinkies.
Her disposition was cheery
and her gait upbeat.

She skipped down to the store
and bought bread, milk, and eggs.
She stepped outside,
back into the gray hustle and bustle
of the city. Her beaming smile
and bright orange dress
shone through the fog of the crowd.

Then an ominous black cloud
approached the sunny girl
and spewed forth its storm.
A mugger dragged her into an alley,
beat her, and robbed her -
not just of her money,
but of her very being.

Weeks have passed, and she still
walks down the street
to buy bread, milk, and eggs,
but now the sea of gray remains unbroken,
no flash of orange to disturb the calm.
She now wears a dress as gray as her fear
as she joins those around her in the horde.