Like pizza fresh from the oven A melding of flavors, a comforting texture In the moment Satisfying
Like chilled leftovers, Tasting every vegetable separately The kick of cold sauce Heat of chilled pepperoni Chewy crust that requires a rip while taking a bite.
Happy memory An expirience enjoyed Bits and pieces saved for later Disected Understood.
The spending of time is not something we have a choice of. We all do it every moment of our breathing lives.
Like the count of seconds ticking away in a parking meter, we can not transfer them to another payment method once we have decided where to spend them.
But unlike a parking meter, time leaves us with bits and pieces we can sort through. Memories as lessons and discoveries. We could discard them, and lose bits of ourselves, or take those small pieces and repurpose them throughout our loves. Even the sharp, painfulness ones have a use.
Was it a shriek of delight or fear? She didn’t know as it forced its way from her chest to the cavity of her mouth. A little heart pounded the rhythm of it as it bubbled into an audible note.
“Stay back. You can’t catch me.”
The floor moved. The carpet rippling right before her eyes. Its colours swimming and shifted, a living thing.
“Hurry!” the others yelled at her as they bounced up and down in excitement. “Its rising!”
She stood on her pillow, feet sinking into its marshmallow softness. She danced like a cat.
“Now, May!”
Her body moved before her mind, responding to the call. The marshmallow softness was her downfall. Toes slid, the truth of its betrayal apparent in a second that stretched to an hour in a single heartbeat.
“No.”
White sock stained brown on the bottom touched carpet. Hands held before her broke the fall, and she giggled with gleeful horror as the waves of colour splashed.
“She’s done for.” The pain in Carter’s voice rocked her back to reality. His terror was exaggerated, but real.
Another scream bubbled out as her ankles were grabbed and the friction of carpet on prone stomach threatened a burn.
“I’ve EATEN you May!”
The blanket muffled the voice, rainbow patterns shifting with movement.
“You have to join me.” “I know, I know.”
Her breathless reply held only a mite of disapproval. Her chest still rose and fell with heavy adrenaline induced gasps. She grasped the offered corner of his blanket, eyes sparking.
“The worm GROWS!”
They yell the words together. The trumpet of doom.
Several weeks ago, I was asked to paint my first commission of 2021. I am honored to be a part of a friend’s grieving process. Trey, you were and are so loved.
I used to choose a seat closest to the doors, in the single cubbies to either side of the true passenger compartments.
“Why do you sit here all alone? It’s dangerous for a single girl.”
I had never thought of it as dangerous before the question. I enjoyed the nods and light conversation with strangers. Many of them dressed roughly, carrying bikes, or oversized backpacks.
I remember one early morning two backpacking couples joined me in the cramped space. The men sat on the ground closest to the sliding doors. I moved my backpack to make room for the two women, tired and clearly already stressed. They didn’t speak Dutch or French or even German, but their chitchat was earnest and careful.
One man wished me well on my journey in English, nodding at my bag as proof I was a kind of comrade, before departing.
The contrast from those small cubbies to the larger passenger compartments with row after row of benches is striking. Few words are ever spoken. Everyone keeps their heads bowed, their minds busy on themselves, appearing to ignore everyone else on the commute. Even so, with the clatter of the train, the call of the ticket master, and the shuffle of shoes, there is a strange companionship.
I have spent quite a few hours waiting on train platforms. In the early morning, or late in the evening, I have found them to hold a strange peace.
Everyone has somewhere, and nowhere to go. Everyone is expectant, yet bored. Isn’t that just like life can be?
I would finally reach my destination in the shadows of night. Night grows and shrinks things. It hides and reveals. It is a different world than daylight, and many people fear it. But I don’t. I know that is only because I have been kept safe. I am blessed.
Night has always been my refuge. Not a time of hiding, but a time of quiet. A time when others retreat, leaving the streets almost empty. The dirt of the day is pushed to the sides, and lays waiting for the morning to come. It’s hidden in the shadows, but it still whispers to the world all the stories it holds. Every cigarette butt, every discarded coffee cup that missed the trash can. Even the caked on muck, scraped from boots at the end of the day. It will all tell you a story, if you only stop and listen.
Mary Grace Writing 