Collectible Friends

She lived her life as if it was a flea market. She bought and sold her time as if it was a cheap, shiny piece of costume jewelry. She bartered with her body, as if it was a nickel or a quarter to be exchanged. She haggled with every one she met, wheeling and dealing with every stranger she spoke with. She sifted through the dross of humanity, searching for those rare and valuable collectibles that always seemed to be found at the bottom of a bin or buried beneath the junk. She searched her entire life for the one thing that could make her life seem more than a babble of noise and a crush of people and a gritty exchange of currency. As if searching through the bins at a flea market, hoping to find a treasure amidst all the junk, she searched for friends.