I was walking down the street on a rainy evening. It had been a disgusting day and I was working the night shift patrolling the streets. So far the evening had been pretty quiet, almost eerily quiet, like just before something's about to happen so I was trying to stay on my guard. The steady rain had lightened up and become more of a drizzle as I was walking down Rouse Boulevard. I headed down the alley between Mo Liquor and Sunshine Day Care and came upon the tiny playground that looked more menacing than inviting in the darkness. After having walked the street blocks for a few hours I decided to sit down on a swing for a few minutes and take a rest.

The playground had been recently remodeled and was no longer rusty and dangerous but shiny and new. Having caught a drug deal or two go down in the past here I decided to scan over the tiny lot for any potential threats. That's when I saw her laying under the slide. Nothing but a dark lump that remained eerily still, barely visible through the night time drizzle. A flood of thoughts filled my mind. Was she sleeping? Has she been hurt? Is she already dead? Trying to remain hopeful I crossed my fingers for an older person just laying down for a moment to try and escape the rain. I crossed the tiny lot and as I got closer I realized who it was. Madame Maureen was lying under the bright red slide, eyes closed, and completely motionless. After checking her pulse (or lack there of) my stomach started doing flips in my stomach. I immediately called for back up and an ambulance. About an hour later it was decided that her death had been natural and no further investigation was needed.

A heart attack. A woman that can't have been much older than me crawled under a slide to die tonight. A sweet woman who told fortunes and never bothered anyone was dead while really bad people were still out roaming the streets. I had seen a lot of killings and deaths on the job over the past few years but it always gets me when an innocent person checks out way before it seems like they should. Why her and why now?

I finished up my shift and headed home to try and get some rest after the surreal events of the evening but it was useless. I couldn't shake the image from my mind of the woman lying under the slide looking so calm and peaceful. Had she felt pain? Did she know death was coming for her? Why was she out alone on such a dark and rainy night? I still had a million questions going thorough my head. I don't know why I couldn't get my mind off of the deceased fortune teller but something about her death was really nagging at me and I couldn't shake this feeling that was almost anger mixed with a great deal of remorse and sorrow.

The next morning I knew what I had to do. I couldn't stay in this town anymore. These past few years had been really tough. The visit from my mom made me miss home and realize just how much time had gone by. The days seemed to draw on endlessly and it was just the same cycle of similar happenings over and over again. I had experienced more than my fair share and after having served for what seemed like decades on this shitty police force, I was ready to call it quits. This town had turned me into someone I didn't even know anymore. I had become a man who was either angry or lonely all the time and who drank more than I ever used to. This wasn't me and I didn't think I could handle this new me for much longer.

Over the next few weeks after the death of Madame Maureen I got the things I needed to in order so that I could head back to the town I used to call home. Before I left, my friends and colleuges told me I wouldn't last in such a rough city and that I would be running back in no time. In a way I guess they were right, after almost ten years I was heading back, but this city I lived in now was no place to call home. After this long I still hardly knew anyone except the people I worked with and my life was centered around work. It was like I hadn't actually been living these past few years, just watching my life go by. For some reason Madame Maureen's death snapped be back into things and made me remember that you never know when life could be over for you and this was certainly not the life I wanted to end with.

I didn't know if things would be any better back home but at least it would be the start of something new. I can't say I was really going to miss this run down town. I had tried to come here and help "save it" in a way but I had had enough. I don't even really know if I'll continue on being a police officer anymore. Maybe I just won't work out in the field, I've definitely had plenty of action since I moved here. So I packed up my apartment, which was fortuneatly still somewhat clean from the visit with my mother, and headed for the train station. I was going back to my old life with way more baggage than I had left with and optimism for the future. I didn't know what was going to happen next but I knew that I needed a change now more than ever and hopefully I would be able to get my life started up again.