.---†^^^##                                          ##^^^†---.
.--†^@###¶                                          ¶###@^†--.
.--†^@#¶¶@                                          @¶¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#                                          #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@@                                          @@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@@         ^†--------.  .--------†^         @@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#         ^                      ^         #@¶#@^†--.
.-†^@#¶@##         ^ mirage class goth gf ^         ##@¶#@^†-.
....---^^#         ^                      ^         #^^---....
.--†^@#¶@#         ^†--------.  .--------†^         #@¶#@^†--.
.--†††^^@#                                          #@^^†††--.
.--†^#¶@##                                          ##@¶#^†--.
...--†^^#@ i used to be a goth, in my youth, doing  @#^^†--...
...--^^#¶¶ crimes mostly from or in my beloved and  ¶¶#^^--...
.......-^#  trusted car, and sometimes my mothers   #^-.......
.--†^@#¶@#    barn. we lived just outside town, a   #@¶#@^†--.
.....-†^#@   grove at the end of a dirt road, and   @#^†-.....
.--†^@#¶@#   the barn was placed so you could just  #@¶#@^†--.
.---††^@@# make out the surrounding fields through  #@@^††---.
.--†^#¶@##                the trees.                ##@¶#^†--.
.--†^@#¶¶¶                                          ¶¶¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#    my car was black and loud, both the   #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶##   engine and the way the parts didn't    ##¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#     really stick together. i took my     #@¶#@^†--.
.....-†@#¶ crimefriend for rides, in the dark, the  ¶#@†-.....
.--†^@#¶@#   eternal dark that seemed to surround   #@¶#@^†--.
.....-†@@¶  us. she seemed to cast this veil over   ¶@@†-.....
.-†^@#¶@##  everything. her black skirt reached to  ##@¶#@^†-.
...--^@###   her knees but then somehow also back   ###@^--...
.--†^@#¶@#   around, enveloping all my memories of  #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#            our time together.            #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#                                          #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#@##   there was blood everywhere. sometimes  ##@#@^†--.
....-††@¶¶   the blood was her red lipstick or her  ¶¶@††-....
.--†^@#¶@#  checkered shirt. she was on television. #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@@     we did crime, and we made weird      @@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#  structures in the barn, tall pillars of #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶¶@  dark wood, ladders and plateaus, fires  @¶¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#  and fairy lights. we would sleep there  #@¶#@^†--.
....---†@¶ and drink there and she would go in the  ¶@†---....
...--†@#¶@                television.               @¶#@†--...
.--†^@#@##                                          ##@#@^†--.
....---^#¶  and then the sun came out, and she went ¶#^---....
.--†^@#¶##  away. everything changed... i yearned,  ##¶#@^†--.
.--†^@###@   and the world became dull around me.   @###@^†--.
...-††@##@                                          @##@††-...
.--†^@#¶¶@    i stopped doing crime, except when    @¶¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#  necessarry. things somehow seemed like  #@¶#@^†--.
.....--†@¶  they were allright, moulded in place,   ¶@†--.....
.--†^@#¶@#   and i loathed it ------ i missed her   #@¶#@^†--.
.....-†@¶@                 so much.                 @¶@†-.....
.--†^@#¶¶@                                          @¶¶#@^†--.
....-††@@¶                                          ¶@@††-....
.--†^^^###             -------. .-------            ###^^^†--.
....-†††@#                                          #@†††-....
.--†^@#¶@#                                          #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@####  i searched for her, but nobody had any  ####@^†--.
....-†@#¶@    memories of her. not so much of me    @¶#@†-....
.--†^@#¶@# either, from the time we were together.  #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@@#¶¶  my mother said i kept to myself in the  ¶¶#@@^†--.
....--†^#¶           barn, or in the car.           ¶#^†--....
.--†^@##¶¶                                          ¶¶##@^†--.
....---^#@      sometimes i could still see her     @#^---....
.--†^^^@##    flashing by on the tv in the barn.    ##@^^^†--.
.....-†@#¶     everything was black then, for a     ¶#@†-.....
....-^@@@¶  moment. i remembered her laugh and knew ¶@@@^-....
.----†^@¶@   we had done crimes together, that it   @¶@^†----.
.--†^@#¶@#             had been real...             #@¶#@^†--.
....-†@#¶¶                                          ¶¶#@†-....
.--†^@#¶@#                                          #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶##            -------. .-------             ##¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶##                                          ##¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@@                                          @@¶#@^†--.
.-----†^@#    i died by getting shot in the head    #@^†-----.
.--†^^@@¶¶   while ramming the fence to a military  ¶¶@@^^†--.
..---†@@@¶   facility. by this time they had been   ¶@@@†---..
.--†^@#¶##   chasing me for days. i lost control    ##¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#   over the car, crashed it into a rock   #@¶#@^†--.
....--^#¶@     wall and flew out the windshield.    @¶#^--....
...--^^^@#                                          #@^^^--...
.--†^@#¶##  and then i got up, and looked around.   ##¶#@^†--.
.--†^@##¶@   it was dark, where it previously had   @¶##@^†--.
.---††^^##    been a bright day. around me where    ##^^††---.
.--†^@#¶@#    dozens of crashed cars, all my car,   #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#               some on fire.              #@¶#@^†--.
...----†^#                                          #^†----...
......-†@¶       the ground was sticky, red.        ¶@†-......
.....--^##                                          ##^--.....
.--†^@#¶@#   and then i realized that i knew this   #@¶#@^†--.
...--^@@¶@     darkness. i knew the way the sky     @¶@@^--...
.--†^@#@##  touched the ground. this was her doing! ##@#@^†--.
.....-^##¶               she was here!              ¶##^-.....
.--†^@#¶@#                                          #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#                                          #@¶#@^†--.
.--†^@#¶@#                                          #@¶#@^†--.
......-†@¶                                          ¶@†-......
....-^^#¶@                                          @¶#^^-....