• The street is empty, so devoid of people...
    She's walking, sneakered feet on the hot summer sidewalk, watching the shimmering waves of heat in the distant street. Rippling, shining waves that reflect the cars above, like an unreachable river on a day when water would be gladly welcomed...She vaguely wonders if desert travelers feel this way when seeing a mirage.
    The sun shines down, a searing heat...
    She's moving closer, and the waves aren't disappearing. The cars keep going, heedless of the mysterious obscuring shine that mirrors their movement down the street.
    Closer, closer...
    She's standing on the curb, staring down at her wavering reflection, seeing the asphalt underneath. A wave, a ripple, a transparent fog; is it real, or is it illusion?
    A single hand reaches down, passes through, feels nothing...
    She's reached too far. A foot comes up, her other hand comes down, she falls through!...And is swallowed up by a mirage no longer there.
    The street is empty, so devoid of people...
    The cars drive on.