Par un clair matin (Part 1 of 3)

Dian was stuck in gridlock, the itch of drowsy boredom settling in. Once more she glanced at the driver next to her, cautiously surveying their expressions. They all sat like life sized dolls in 4000 pound casings, quietly waiting. Dian caught one looking back at her which sent a jolt to spring in her chest. She scrambled to escape the driver's eyes but finding nothing to fix on she fluttered her lashes as if agitated by something and looked away, not daring to glimpse back. She could feel herself being watched for a moment, palpable like the warmth of a broken sun beam. But after returning to the traffic before, she dissolved back into her drifting mind.

Gazing at the clusters of faint smudges peppered on the windshield, Dian began to study the details usually invisible during morning commute. Some smears were radiating especially by the sun's light, reaching for her attention. On the far end of the pane over the the passenger seat she noticed someone had traced the shape of a heart on the glass. It was small, a little lopsided and completely lovely. A bit overwhelmed by the surprise of minute sweetness so early in the morning Dian impulsively drew a little halo hovering above it. Immediately Dian realized she had spoiled the doodle's quiet perfection and silently smudged out the addition with her sleeve. It looked wounded now, and the sleeve had created a clean globular spot, a void, where the halo once hung; a twinge of guilt.

Dian wondered whom it could have belonged to and thought the past few days drive. But before a conclusion made its way the swelling metallic hum of moving traffic brought her back to the wheel and straight toward work.