The following morning, Rayen rose early
And set out to buy food for her home.
The Farmer's Market just downtown,
Had the best food no matter where she roamed.
She knew that Braden would be tired and sore,
After that MMA bout.
And she planned to fix his favorite breakfast,
When he was up and about.

She could have driven her car downtown,
But with LA traffic it'd be-
Much easier to go on foot-
And besides, she'd feel more free.



And free she felt as she paced the aisles,
With attention and with care
As she called to all the people she knew
Who shopped and worked down there.
But as she walked by a freezer case,
Her freedom-feelings plucked a note
That soured in her imagination
And made a lump in her throat.

She saw her reflection in the freezer case,
And wondered who it could be,
This grandmother of a 20 year old,
Could she really be free?
Her jet black hair was beginning to thin,
Though she was only 55.
She looked closer and saw some were going gray,
And bitter feelings welled up inside.

She thought of her lost husband and son,
And how Braden was all she had left.
And she fingered a black pen in her pocket,
The one that was close to her breast.
She finished her shopping as her mind weighed
And contemplated her mortality.
Then shuffled off with her bags in her hands,
Questioning what the future would be.



As Rayen began her journey home,
She realized that she had
Let down her guard from looking around,
And for this she felt very bad.

"You must keep an eye out downtown."
Rayen thought to herself.
"No telling what people might hassle you."
Just then a tingling she felt.

She looked around and saw a man,
She'd seen in her periphery.
She realized that he'd been watching her,
Ever since she began feeling free.
He had followed her all around,
Staying just out of sight.
She began to walk faster, and ducked down an alley,
She did not want to have to fight.

The man was dark with a mustache,
And he was otherwise nondescript.
He looked like something of Indian descent,
But Rayen could only look quick.
She hustled away to throw him off,
But then she bumped into another man,
Who stood almost 6 and a half feet.
And he whistled at her then.



Man: "Hey Momma! Where you going?
Why don't you come with me?"

Rayen wasted no time at all,
And pulled her black pen free.
She stabbed him with the pointed end,
And then shouted three simple words.

"Stun gun! Mutatio!"
And him, into pain, she did send.

The pen turned into a stun gun in a moment,
And then the man hit the ground.
Rayen picked up her bags quickly,
And ran til' she was safe and sound.

Once back in her neighborhood,
She stared at the weapon in her hand.

"Pen, Mutatio." She said once again,
"It's time to take a stand."

The stun gun turned back into a pen,
And Rayen went back to her dwelling.
Compiling a story in her mind,
That anyone would find compelling.