A sunny noon had given way to a cold eve, as the earth released the last few bits of warm energy into the night.
He lingered around the parlor for a few minutes more, thinking that staying there any longer would simply mean killing more time. Wading his way through the crowd, he started in the direction of the road to the right. That would lead him to the 5th Avenue- A place where he knew he’d find her, a place where she still lived- or at least so he hoped.
This evening, it had exactly been seven months and five days from their last meet- equaling the time she’d been gone. Gone? He wondered. Why’d she gone? WAS she REALLY gone? He probably had answers to neither.
The screeching sound of wheels hurled him out of the dark maze of thoughts. “Watch it, dude. You coulda come under my wheels!” A frantically angered man at the steering of a grey sedan yelled at him. He made an apology gesture to the huffing driver, collected himself and got on the pavement.
Dark clouds had come up on the pale blue night sky. He cast a hopeful glance at those and earnestly hoped, “tonight if it rains, hope you receive the same drops as I do.” With that he hastened his pace, covering two blocks each in a stride so he’d make it to her place before it poured. He’d hug her tight and she’d melt in his arms, and then she’s smell him up and complain about the change in perfume.. and he’d end up convincing her ‘twas a present from his mother.. Oh! How he wished to get to her so soon but for the only pair of feet he had!
In the other part of his head were other thoughts. He remembered that fateful day she promised it were the last they were seeing each other. She made him promise he wouldn’t bother her whereabouts, let alone try to track her down. She’d said they both needed to come in terms with reality, which was that their future was absolutely unthinkable.
The weather grew colder with each step. It was below freezing and snowflakes were just a matter of time. It seemed to remind him of the first time they’d met.. on one of these empty roads when the night was just as cold. But that night’s stillness was altered by tonight’s swishing ruffle, thanks to the wind that tossed around the dried leaves of maple. The stark reality, however, was that destiny had led him back on the roads. That night was the start of the journey. Tonight, was its culmination.
