It rained this morning, washing away the scum and the smog that conspire to make this city ugly. It is an unusually clear day. Unusually beautiful.

I sit by a window in downtown's Central Library, waiting for the sun to fall. By the time it's dark, it's almost closing time. With Dostoyevsky's The House of the Dead in my left hand and a VHS copy of Brokedown Palace in my right, I slip out the backdoor to avoid the crowd of people that will soon be rushing out of the building. I head to the corner of Hill and 5th and look around.

The sky is dark blue and reflects off the glass buildings that tower above me. Each building shines on all the others.

As the breeze picks up, I close my eyes. The cool air sneaks up my shirt and caresses my nipples until they are as hard as raw pinto beans. I unbuckle my belt and let the breeze crawl into my pants-

"Gimme your wallet!"

I never bring my wallet to the library. I go there to get stuff for free, you doucheclown.

I open my eyes to see the barrel of a pistol shoved against my nose. Behind it is a wheezing obese man wearing a black ski mask. "You fuckin' deaf?"

I can barely think straight, so I just shove Brokedown Palace in his face. "I couldn't get a quarter for this shit!" He throws it back at me. I actually saw it go for three bucks once on eBay, but I'm not about to tell him that.

He shoves the gun in my eye. "Gimme yer wallet or I fuckin' kill ya!"

A car engine purrs in the distance. We both glance down Hill Street and see a police car on patrol.

"Fuck!" The man tucks the gun into his belly and waddles away.

The police car pulls up next to me. The window slides down and a mustachioed officer peeks out. "Everything alright, sir?"

It's a clear night. Everything is beautiful.