I'm in Edmonton, I've run into a surprising number of former acquaintances. Scott, others...And passing, on a street, I see Sheryll. She's with a younger man, perhaps 30's, lots of tattoos, short hair, she's at the doorway to a house arguing with a tall, stoic looking man about visiting her daughter, "Not without court-appointed guardian" he tells her, she's drunk, and her 30 something companion is quietly helping her away from the door...
She's wearing a bathrobe, it keeps slipping off, she's not just drunk I realize, she's a crack addict, blackened eyes, this young man she's with is a john, I determine to rescue her, feel somehow responsible, I approach her companion & slip her into my arms, she's out of it, her companion offers no resistance....
....there's a cafe, now, and they're opening all the sugar dispensers on the table, thinking one of them must be filled with crack, that's where she's getting it, and I've got her in my arms and am wondering how to save her...