Today's OneWord: Startled

Visibly perturbed, the boy in the yellow jacket and red baseball cap shuffled off to the side of the street, where he sat cross-legged on the curb, rubbing at his eyes repetitively and obsessively. It was safe to say that he wasn't simply startled by what he had seen, but in fact, he had been quite affected, even disturbed, by what unfolded.

It wasn't just the car crash, seeing the sedan fold in like fiberglass origami. Or hearing the scream.

It was also seeing the ghosts rise from the wreckage like plumes of cheap cigarette smoke.