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Every day, she sat there. I don't know why but I was drawn to her. In the beginning, I didn't realize she was a girl. I first caught sight of her during the winter, so she wore a ratty parka and a black beanie hat that came down over her eyebrows. Though she was bundled up and I couldn't see her hair, something about her called to me. I think in the back of my mind, I sensed she was 'my kind'. It might have been her full lips or her large sad eyes. Or her stance or her androgynous face.

As winter ended, she shed the parka but continued wearing the beanie. Sometimes her black hair peeked out the back and sides of the hat. It did seem short so I supposed she could have been male, but eventually I'd seen her enough times on my way home from work that I could just tell. The cheekbones, the posture, even her expression somehow when she looked up at people passing by. There was just a vague female essence about it all.

Occasionally she quietly asked for spare change, but in general she kept to herself. She seemed to be satisfied to just people-watch. Maybe I was drawn to her because we had the same habit. I liked observing the people around me too; which is what led my gaze toward her in the first place.

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