Rainman (open)

[Mia Dillon]

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man... Run, run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man..."

The eerie singing of the storybook phrase could barely be heard unless one were sitting close to the woman--none were. She was outfitted in normal attire, her clothing suggested nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the woman didn't look 'weird' at all. If you managed to get her to look you in the eye for more than half a second you could see that there was sign of intelligence there. But Mia Dillon didn't look anyone in the eye. She just sat, rocking back and forth with her hands clasped in her lap, and singing.

"Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep and doesn't know where to find them... Leave them alone... Leave them alone.... Leave them alone..."

A passing man stumbled over his untied shoelace and fell to the floor, dropping an open pack of cigarettes as he went down. Before the white cylanders could hit the ground, Mia glanced at them and then looked away as if she had done something wrong.

"Twelve... Twelve... Twelve..."

She smiled to herself as the man picked up the scattered smokes. All twelve of them. She stared at the pattern of threads on her pants as she rocked, memorizing it.

Criss
Cross
Over
Under
Fourteen over
Twelve under
Two diagonal
Criss
Cross

Presently her attention was drawn to some men playing cards at the table across from her. She didn't watch the men themselves, only the dealers hands. Blackjack. Mia liked this game.

"Hit me."

"Hit me."

The dealer handed another card to the player as Mia mouthed actions.

"Hit me."

"Hit me."

Another card was layed down.

"Ace. Hit me."

"Stay."

"Hit me."

"Nineteen... Ace of spades, dealer has twenty-one, I win."

Mia rocked back and forth at a faster pace now.

"I win... I win.... I win... Leave them alone... I win..."

She had been there for about half an hour this perplexing woman. Of course, Mia didn't know jsut where she was. She had no idea. Everything was fine in her world. She had a corner table by a window, the napkin dispense was moved to the center of the table and the salt and pepper moved to the wall. The surgar packets were straight and neat, organized by brand and size. Everything was just right.

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can..."

[xsmokingmanx]

Jason saw curious looking women in the corner she was rocking back and forth mumbling something to herself. The women didn't look out of the ordenary at all but her mumbling to herself did make Jason wonder a bit.

Jason got up from the bar and made his way to the ladies table. Jason sat down across from her witgh a smile on his face.

" hows it going Ma'am, my names Jason but people call me smoker."

[Mia Dillon]

At first, the only response that Jason recieved was a momentary pause in the back and forth motions. Mia didn't acknowledge him directly but the word 'smoker' seemed to have an affect. The rythym of her movements changed to match the pace of her voice.

"Smoking... Acetanisole, acetic acid, acetoin, acetophenone, acetoxydihydrotheaspirane, acetyl, ethylpyrazine, methylfuran, acetylpyrazine, acetylpyridine, acetylthiazole, aconitic acid, alanine, alfalfa extract, allspice extract, oleoresin..."

Mia was reciting the ingrediants in cigarrettes in hushed tones, not looking at the man who sat across from her. She'd read the contents once, or maybe heard it somewhere, and stored it away for future reference.

" Ambergris tincture, ammonia, ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium hydroxide, ammonium phosphate dibasic, ammonium sulfide..."

[xsmokingmanx]

Jason only heard bits and pieces off what the women was saying but that was enough for him to understand the whole gist of it. Jason first thought was that this woman was insane or extremely lost.

" Yeah Smoking is a bad habit, I'm glad i gave it up. Do you need any help ma'am are you lost or something?"


Jason let his question Linger he didn't know if it would answered or not.

[Mia Dillon]

"Yeah, smoking is a bad habit, it's a bad habit... Yeah...."

Mia looked off to the side, never once sitting still.

"Yeah, smoking is a bad habit, definetly a bad habit.... Yea--"

Beep, beep, beep! Beep, beep, beep!

She was interupted by the tinny alarm of the cheap wristwatch she wore, the kind fuond in childrens cereal.

"Whoop! Three- thirty, it's three-thirty now. It's time for 'Cooking Wiiiiith Steve'! Everybody's favorite chef.... It's three-thirty now..."

Mia waited for the sounds of the show, unaware that she was no longer in her room. Usually a nurse would have turned the set on beforehand.

"It's three-thirty...."

[xsmokingmanx]

Jason started to think there was something very wrong with this lady. He wasn't for sure what but it was nothing he knew how to deal with.

" I have never heard of that show before. What channel is it on?"