She wears scarves with little bells at the edges. A small silver bird, wide winged and intricate, hangs around her neck. Men offer her their coats very often, when the cold becomes more than just pleasant. She takes them with a nod of acknowledgement but her expression has no gratitude. She doesn’t thank people for things she didn’t request for.

In crowded rooms, she is still on her own although there’s a tan muscular arm around her waist. Her eyes don’t move when he whispers into her ear about how beautiful she is. She has a small smile when he asks her if she wants to have dinner again sometime. She always tells him she’ll let him know. Later, when she's alone in her room, she makes a list in her head-she looks at the pros and cons. Usually it's the same. He's nice but he smothers her with attention.

There is something about how she carries herself. There is something striking about her indifference. She's a little condescending, in a very deliberate fashion. It draws men to her like children in toy stores. The toy you want the most, is the one you can't have.

At night she falls asleep, after she brushes her teeth and the bathroom mirror is speckled with water and and errant blobs of toothpaste. Her phone rings more often than not, but she rarely answers. There will however come a day, she tells herself, when she will answer the phone. She, like everyone else, knows that you need someone to be by yourself with. She also knows that, that person will not be the kind who'll call her in the nights.

And the circle will be proverbially vicious.