Only a handful of people noticed Janine’s panicked expression and gasps for air. One man in a business suit pinched too tight in the shoulders looked at her as he walked by before shaking his head in disgust at her antics and gazing intently at his obviously too expensive watch. A little girl of perhaps five stared at her in fascination as her mother pulled her along the sidewalk and around a corner. A stocky, grizzled, street vendor narrowed his eyes at her flailing and muffled, half-eaten screams, but nevertheless, failed to rise to give even token support.

The friendliness of strangers.

Inside the office, her boss abruptly closed the folder and rose from his chair. Behind him, unnoticed, his shadow continued to grapple with Janine’s shade. As he reached the doorway, he flipped out a hand and pushed down the switch, plunging the interior office into near complete darkness; the light from the hall illuminating only the region in front of the desk.

Gasping, Janine felt relief. The choking hands were gone.