The City

Wisps of foul mist floated, visible in the thin shaft of sickly light filtering from a flickering gas-lamp.  She stared into the puddle, fresh rain already tainted with myriad colors slicking the surface.  Close to her breast she clutched her damp, dirty, once-grey dress, to retain a bit of warmth. The face that stared back through ripples was drawn; cheeks marked with filth, the hair tangled, infused with the eternal smog.  It was a face unremembered.  Soot and smoke choked the air; the train rumbled uncaring along elevated rails, steady sounds of metal on metal drowning her muted, wretched whimpers.