Security.

she sat down, tugged at her skirt and blinked her eyes, trying to keep awake. he, seated next to her, was clutching onto his backpack like there was a million bucks in it.

he had asked her out for a movie; a horror flick. she hadn't seen one in ages. she wasn't scared at the impending "strike of fear" because she's the kinda girl who'll usually scoff at horror flicks, and laugh at the scariest parts.

as the screen began to flicker, she felt compelled to put her arm through his...and she did. resting her head on his shoulder, she felt somewhat awkward, that is, until he leant back and held her hand. towards the seemingly more chilling parts of the movie, he held her hand tight...at times even bringing it up to his lips.

movie ends. they walk out into the moist, warm air. she could tell the air was moist, because when he took her hand, it felt moist...and warm.

and so it goes for the rest of the evening. he held her hand, as he had said he would before. then they parted ways, with nary a farewell. he headed for work and she, back to where she came from.

as she strode to her transport, she took in everything she saw around - men wrapping their arms possessively around their girlfriends, parents trying to pacify their kids in strollers, girl friends talking loudly as if trying to talk to people 10 feet away.

she smiled to herself. in that one instant, she felt happy. sure, she was fatigued and mentally asleep. but somewhere deep down, she felt good.

she smiled because it was a perfect day.

so perfect that it should never have been.

The lack of it.