The Hunt

The predator chooses the prey,
preferably small and quiet.
He chases. Sinks his teeth into her. Doesn’t stop, even when she says,
”No, stop, please.”
She screams. Cries. But he’s too ravenous.
It’s done. He leaves her, cold, a fragile piece of who she was.
Throws her away like trash.
She is broken. Confused. She thinks,
”Why would anyone do that?”
She scrubs her skin until it’s bleeding, trying to remove the lingering feeling of his rough touches.
He forgets her, erased from his mind. Barely a smudge in the ink.
She feels guilty. People are saying,
”Well, maybe you shouldn’t have worn that”
”You were asking for it.”
She becomes mean. Untrusting. Vicious.
Her friends turn into strangers.
He is living his best life — parties, girlfriends, sports.
No regrets.
She stays still, everyone moving around her, but she’s frozen in time — replaying every moment.