Innocence

She stands there looking so innocent. Her hands in her pockets, staring down at her feet. Her hair hangs down and I can only see her face when she steals that rare glance in my direction. I look at her from across the room and see her as I've never seen her before. All at once I see her as the woman she is now and what she must have been as a child.

She doesn't say a word and so neither do I. I just walk across the room and wrap my arms around her. Her hands find their way to my lower back and she pulls me in to her. She presses her face against my neck and I can feel the warmth of her tears.

She whspers two words into my ear and then slips away...

"I'm sorry."