I felt so bad throughout the day that I got out of the house and
just walked. Walked through the dark streets, only ever
illuminated at each block by a dim streetlight and those occupied
houses of dysfunctional families. Maybe I should've taken a
battery-powered torch. The only sounds of the night being the
crunching noises of the broken asphalt beneath my feet, family
cars coming home from a long day of work, siblings screaming at
each other of the most trivial things, stray cats fighting,
teenagers and their secondhand motorbikes zooming, and the wind
blowing violently through my long hair and past my face. Despite
the noise, that comforted me with life all around, I was still
afraid - why did I come? What if something happens to me? What if
I get lost? I've never come through this way before. It was
awfully cold on my bare shoulders and legs, maybe I should've
wore more than a pair of shorts, an off-shoulder top, and
overworked pair of flip-flops. Maybe I should've washed my hair,
it was greasy, from all the sweat that built and dried from
washing cars and cleaning the house. Hours of hard work and
plenty aches, just so I could see the smile on my father's face
when he gets home after a whole week of being away. Maybe it
wouldn't matter what I looked like, or that my cat was missing,
or that my mom was sad that my life is wasting away every day. Or
maybe she is sad because some palm-reader on the East told that I
wouldn't live long; nature might take me. Maybe what is seen
easily will be overlooked by the overwhelming joy of the return.
Maybe, maybe. Needless to say, there was lot more to the walk
than I'd anticipated. Each step held fast and released another
weight, another story I would disregard and regard into
nonchalance. I'm doing good thus far, I have long ago come to
terms with the balance of life and how so often it can drop you
and raise you to the tip of your toes. I am capable of
understanding, I promise I'll at least try even if it's almost
impossible. That's how I was raised, to believe all is possible
and all will be well.
I eventually traced my steps through the unfamiliar paths and
walked back home - feeling worse, yet better.