The suffocating heat of the day melted into twilight as I tied my shoelaces. Moving away from the edge of the bed over to the opened window, I had a look down to the street from my third story flat. The stoop across from my building held a heavy-set woman fanning herself with rolled newspaper while a few young kids played Red light, Green light on the crumbling paved road. Watching the kids at play, gave me the want for my youth, reminiscing those fun and innocent days. Glancing to my own apartment’s stoop, I saw that the front doors were propped open but nobody was anchoring the steps. The click of the tumbler fell into place and soon after, my footfalls echoed along on the cracked and slightly pitched sidewalk. A young couple pushing a babe in a stroller rolled by me, faces smiling with their love for each other. I knew the feeling of young love but also tasted the deep pang of regret. Pushing away the sad memory, I crossed over to the next block. Only two blocks more to go, I thought. About then, maybe a second or two more, a wind came up, gently pushing me along. By the time I reached the end of the second block, the wind had turned, bringing with it a dark mass and a drop in temperature. I could smell the rain before it started falling, spattering the dusty sidewalk with tiny wet circles. Only one more block to go, I thought, hurrying my step. The once refreshing moisture now soaked my cotton button up, the cuffs of my trousers and shoes faring no better. I’m almost there; I kept telling myself, pushing through the relentless rain soaked wind. I could feel the water seeping through my argyle socks, sloshing in between my toes. For a moment, I considered turning back to my flat but that was before I saw the glowing neon arrow beckoning to me. Lowering my head, I continued on, building momentum when all of a sudden, the beckoning neon ceased. The brooding sky rumbled and flashed, heaving load after load of rain upon my already soaked frame. I stood there for a moment, uncaring, knowing I had no choice but to turn back. The two blocks seemed like forever as I willed myself back to my dry flat. By now, the gutters were swollen, lapping over onto the sidewalk. For some reason or another, I drifted back to boyhood days of floating paper boats until each one dissolved away below the surface of the pond. Looking at my shoes, I saw that they too, much like the paper boats, were beginning to fall apart. Again lightening flashed, illuminating the clear sheet of pouring rain set against the gray backdrop of the lifeless street. Moving along, I came to a rippling puddle on the walk, forcing me to skirt around it. It was my third step on the wet field when I lost my shoe to the sucking mud, the fifth when I lost the other. The downpour continued its deluge as I leaned my hand against a power pole, rolling down the mud caked argyles off my wrinkled feet. I held the socks in my hand only for a moment before tossing them to the ground. I stood there in the pouring rain finding comfort in my thoughts before continuing along the rain soaked sidewalk.
Posted on: Sun, 26 May 2013 00:32:46 +0000
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