Midnight at the Oasis

She reads the text for the 10th time:
"Room 18."
This is the last one.
Tonight will be different.
But... will it, really?

She stares at the neon signs.
Bright green palm trees
and flashing, stuttering words:
"O-sis Motel"
"Oasis Motel"
O-sis,
Oasis,
O-sis.

Two knocks,
the door opens
and the stagnant air
instantly chokes her.

She steps into the squalid,
uninviting room and he
takes her by the wrist.

Bed springs dig into her spine,
but her mind strays
to a different place.

A place with real palm trees
and crystalline waters
that quench her desire
for something more.

Still she feels his clammy hands
wrap around her throat.
He likes it this way, but
tonight something is different.

He breathes in ecstasy
and the mirage fades
into darkness.
The palm trees flicker
in and out of her vision-
welcoming a different paradise.