I stood in the empty streets of the city and held the crinkled piece of paper in my hands. I had found it skipping through the sidewalks, and picked it up before the wind could.  A harsh breeze blew into my face as I carefully examined the image. It was of a man. He was dressed in a blue jacket, black pants, and very worn white shoes. He had a bright smile on his face. He looked kind, and I wondered who he was. 

I continued with my walk through the quiet city and looked up to see a figure in the distance. As I walked closer, It clicked. I looked back at the image, then at the man, and repeated the process a couple of times. They were the same. I glanced at the image one last time, but when I looked up, he was gone. I stared at the man in the photo, and adjusted my hands to turn it to the side. When I moved my finger, a faded letter peaked out from the paper. I moved my hand.

“Wanted.”

–WP–

(Published November 2022)