Illegal Words

         The old woman pulled the shawl over her head and tried to blend in even more with the shadows.  She saw lights from a police car sweeping the night, searching for curfew breakers, like her.  If she were caught...she pushed the thought from her mind.  No use wasting time with all the "if's" in life. The car had passed and it was time to meet the buyer.  She crossed the street, basket closely held against her body, doing the dance that was habit now- a glance one way, a quick turn of the body to check a different direction, then a sudden pirouette to move on in the direction of her destination again.  She had to be sure there was no one around, no one to see.          

         She met with the buyer at the furthest point from the sidewalk light.  The more shadowed her face, the less he could implicate her if they got caught.  There was a monkey perched on his shoulder, silently watching.  She wondered briefly if the monkey was real.  If it was, the buyer must be wealthy.  If not, it could be recording the entire encounter.  No time to worry about that now.

         He pulled out some cash, she pulled out the dictionary.  It was in good condition, printed only a year before the Standardization.  Many people bought dictionaries to write poems to their lovers- somehow using illegal words made it more romantic.  He could also be undercover, buying up the black market share of dictionaries for the government.  If that was the case, he would burn the dictionary.  She really didn't care what he used it for, as long as she got the money. 

         As he reached for the dictionary, she snatched the wad of bills and darted away into the night.