she had really been through it

she was taller than me
thin, in her 20s.
she was wearing tight blue jeans
a T-shirt and a hat
to hide her face.
even though she looked at the ground
the hat didn’t hide her face well.
she said hello and then smiled.
I said hello back and held the door
open for her.
she thank me and walked in.
I kept thinking about her face.
it was horribly scared
from eyelid to jaw bone
on both sides.
she really had it.
to think of all the staring
all the insults
everything stupid people say
all the lonely nights
all the hours looking in the mirror
wondering why?
she really struck me.
she has lived a life that most people
would never dream of in their
darkest nightmares.
she said, in a happy voice, “so long”
she walked out, got in her car
drove away.
I just stood there
watching her car drive off into the distance
thinking that she had such a sunny
dispostion.
she was the most beautiful woman
that I had ever seen at the post office.