the last book I ever read (Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann, excerpt eight)

from Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann:

She reaches deftly into the bucket, smooths the crush from a misshapen cigarette, lights up.

On the lawn, a sudden square of light falls from an upstairs window, like the frame of a painting thrown onto the ground. She finishes the cigarette in three hard draws.

A swell of revulsion stabs her stomach and she sways, dizzy with regret.