The cold air bit at my exposed skin,
chilling my toes until they were stone.
Each step I took was a thud
in my bones, stinging but devoid
of any pain.

The sky was hidden by gray ice.
Rain seemed inevitable, but it
never came, affording me no company.
There was nothing to distract myself
from each numb step I took.

The street was barren, the buildings silent.
I was bonding with the sidewalk, whispering
secrets to it as my body grew accustom
to the stone. The concrete had many cracks,
but it had no pain.