Spring Break
'Two more hours until today turns away/And it starts all over again'
The Story So Far
Shannon Barry
Issue date: 11/30/06 Section: Opinion
She was right. But unlike her, I liked the consistencies in my life. And had grown used to them. Just as I had grown used to her.
But like most things in life, you can't control everything, and, although I didn't want to, my obsessive comfort had pushed her away.
***
Her hand started to shake as she brushed the carpet to pick it up, slowly, slowly, slowly. The picture was outlined in black. It had sporadic bouts of light shining throughout, making the grays an angelic white. Black lines were consistent, looking as though it had been taken in water. Giving just enough shading to this 1-month-old creation, to understand what it was. Or what it wasn't.
***
Stepping outside the double doors to my work, the cool night breeze offered a tranquil comfort to my yet again monotone day.
Though this night felt different … somehow.
I don't know if it was the puddle of water I stepped in while zoning out to the flashing traffic lights in the distance. Or maybe it was the little girl with pigtails swinging from her mother and father's hands in the parking lot.
No matter what it was, I drove home feeling indifferent to the life I had become so acquainted to. As if my feelings of comfort and stability had somehow been upturned in a whirlwind of chaos.
Perhaps it was her spontaneity that I missed the most.
Because without living my life, well, her living for both of us, the stars in the sky seemed to fade from a sparkling twinkle to a lifeless dull.
As if every moment I had once lived for, or at least longed to live for, meant nothing.
And as I stepped inside the confines of my empty apartment, Lucky ran up to me, tongue sticking out, panting and jumped up on my leg.
It was hard to believe that even Lucky was an indirect cause of knowing her.
Because though we were only friends at the time, she gave me my first job in the grooming department of PETCO.
But like most things in life, you can't control everything, and, although I didn't want to, my obsessive comfort had pushed her away.
***
Her hand started to shake as she brushed the carpet to pick it up, slowly, slowly, slowly. The picture was outlined in black. It had sporadic bouts of light shining throughout, making the grays an angelic white. Black lines were consistent, looking as though it had been taken in water. Giving just enough shading to this 1-month-old creation, to understand what it was. Or what it wasn't.
***
Stepping outside the double doors to my work, the cool night breeze offered a tranquil comfort to my yet again monotone day.
Though this night felt different … somehow.
I don't know if it was the puddle of water I stepped in while zoning out to the flashing traffic lights in the distance. Or maybe it was the little girl with pigtails swinging from her mother and father's hands in the parking lot.
No matter what it was, I drove home feeling indifferent to the life I had become so acquainted to. As if my feelings of comfort and stability had somehow been upturned in a whirlwind of chaos.
Perhaps it was her spontaneity that I missed the most.
Because without living my life, well, her living for both of us, the stars in the sky seemed to fade from a sparkling twinkle to a lifeless dull.
As if every moment I had once lived for, or at least longed to live for, meant nothing.
And as I stepped inside the confines of my empty apartment, Lucky ran up to me, tongue sticking out, panting and jumped up on my leg.
It was hard to believe that even Lucky was an indirect cause of knowing her.
Because though we were only friends at the time, she gave me my first job in the grooming department of PETCO.
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