I awoke as I did every day. Cold, weary, and aching. The insistent beeping of the alarm was shut off as Shadow hit the off button with her paw. She came over and nuzzled my palm then hopped up onto my low bed to lick my face til I got up. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and walked to the bathroom with my hand on the wall opposite the stairway out of my small apartment. As I walked I felt every little ridge and crack that passes under my fingers. The plaster flakes off a little time every time I run my hands along it. The whole apartment smells like mildew and stale dog food. I turned on the shower, only cold water came out as usual, even when I turned both knobbly cracked valves on the shower. Everything was in its place easy to find by touch. As I toweled off I walked back into the main part of the apartment running my hand along the wall until I reached my dresser. I pulled a carefully folded set of clothes out, underwear and socks from the top drawer, a shirt from the next one down, and pants from the one below that. I retraced my footsteps around the wall past the bathroom to my bed where I pulled my shoes from the drawer under my bed. I could hear Shadow happily munching on some dry dog food in her corner as I finished getting ready for the day. I called to Shadow to come to me. When she got to me she let me know where she was by nuzzling my hand. I put on my coat with its special extra pockets sewn into the inner lining so I can carry the tools of my trade, the pick gun, torsion wrenches, and various picks that I use to supplement my very modest income from the government. As I finish my preparations Shadow slips into her harness and comes around my bed and nuzzles my hand again to get me to tighten down the harness.
We both ascended the stairs and emerge into a chilly room that smells of old books. This is the bookstore I live underneath. The old man who runs it is kind enough to let me rent out the basement since his business has no need for it. I turned and locked the door to my abode and allowed Shadow to lead me towards the door. We exited out onto the street and turned out of the front door to the bookstore. The air is cold and crisp and smells like it rained the previous night. The sound of birds chirping in the crisp chilly morning air came floating out of the woods behind the bank as I walked towards the coffee shop where I spend many of my days waiting for business. We round the corner and the aroma of coffee and fresh bagels wafts down the street towards us, but the effect is ruined by that biting aroma of some kind of oil leak in the street next to me. When we reached the coffee shop we entered and Shadow wove her way through the tables until I got up to the counter to order my usual breakfast, two bagels and a cup of coffee with three sugars, and a piece of bacon for Shadow. I allow myself to be led back down to my usual table by the window where I can set up my sign that says I can get into apartments, houses and cars if you've lost your keys for a small fee. There is a enough demand for a locksmith in this neighborhood for me to be able to afford the little luxuries, especially one who cant see who he's working for or what he's working on. I settle in and bask in the low sunlight that comes through the window and wait for someone to need my services.
We both ascended the stairs and emerge into a chilly room that smells of old books. This is the bookstore I live underneath. The old man who runs it is kind enough to let me rent out the basement since his business has no need for it. I turned and locked the door to my abode and allowed Shadow to lead me towards the door. We exited out onto the street and turned out of the front door to the bookstore. The air is cold and crisp and smells like it rained the previous night. The sound of birds chirping in the crisp chilly morning air came floating out of the woods behind the bank as I walked towards the coffee shop where I spend many of my days waiting for business. We round the corner and the aroma of coffee and fresh bagels wafts down the street towards us, but the effect is ruined by that biting aroma of some kind of oil leak in the street next to me. When we reached the coffee shop we entered and Shadow wove her way through the tables until I got up to the counter to order my usual breakfast, two bagels and a cup of coffee with three sugars, and a piece of bacon for Shadow. I allow myself to be led back down to my usual table by the window where I can set up my sign that says I can get into apartments, houses and cars if you've lost your keys for a small fee. There is a enough demand for a locksmith in this neighborhood for me to be able to afford the little luxuries, especially one who cant see who he's working for or what he's working on. I settle in and bask in the low sunlight that comes through the window and wait for someone to need my services.
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Unkowing Stranger, #13
It was 4:07 real time, and I had only ten minutes to get to the bus stop that was right outside the Sunshine Daycare. It should have been only a short walk from my apartment, but I seemed to be walking backwards as the blistering wind pounded upon my little body.
The snow poured down, blurring my vision as the flakes grasped onto the curls of my lashes. I was amazed at the ease at which a guide dog navigated a blind man through the snow covered ground and snow filled air. They passed me heading in the same direction, and I was inclined to grab onto the dog’s harness as the falling snow thickened.
However, I somehow managed to trudge through the snow and reach the bus stop on my own just in time. 4:15. I had two more minutes. I took the purple bag off of my shoulder, took out the journal, and quickly read through the notes about yesterday’s dove. Yup. This was right. The public bus would soon be coming from the south down Rouse Blvd. Now the only question that remained was who the mystery person would be today that I was suppose to help. Who was the unknowing stranger today? Who would be the 13th person? But I didn’t worry about not already knowing who the person was. For the previous 12 people, I didn’t realize who they were until the exact instance of occurrence. When I see them, I just know it's them. I know that that particular person is who I must help. It’s just an instinct. A gift. All I had to make sure I looked out for at the moment was the bus, which I soon heard rumbling up the hill from the right. I could barely see it through the pouring snow. 4:16. My heart pounded. The bus stopped right in front of me. The doors opened giving off that noise that sounded like a spit of air. The bus driver stared at me. I stared back and didn’t move.
“You getting on or what, little girl?” the bus driver said impatiently.
I just stood there. “Umm, Umm…” I had to stall, but I didn’t yet know who I was stalling for. I glanced down at my watch. 4:17. Deep breath. I anxiously looked the sidewalk up and down. No one. The bus driver looked at me angrily as he was getting behind schedule by waiting for me. He reached for the door lever to close the doors.
I put my foot in the way of the door. “You have to stay. Just one second. PLEEEEEASE! Someone really needs to catch this bus,” I said desperately to the impatient driver. There was only one way this was suppose to play out, and the bus was NOT suppose to leave YET. Then I heard her. I looked over my shoulder. The door to the Sunshine Daycare flew open, and a woman came running out with a baby in her arms tightly bundled beneath several layers and hollered at the bus. She looked so relieved as she quickly hopped onto the bus.
“I thought for sure I had already missed it,” she said frazzled and out of breath to the bus driver.” Thank you so much for waiting, Driver.”
“It sure wasn’t my idea to get behind schedule,” he grumpily said as he motioned towards me.
The doors closed, and I watched the bus drive away as the woman found her seat in the back. That woman had no idea how catching that bus just changed her entire life. But I knew. I knew everything. The dove’s flight pattern had told it all, and once again, I found myself in the right place at the right time. This was her fate. This was her destiny. And I only played a very small part in her very big plan. I felt a sense of nastalgia as the bus disappeared into the distance. I would probably never see that woman again, but that was what the picture was for. The picture of the dove was my way of remembering her and all the others.
That night I returned back to the roof top of Jupiter Apartments, carefully avoiding stepping on any of the many cockroaches scurrying up the stairs. The freezing cold was no excuse to miss releasing another dove. After all, I was dealing with fate. I had to learn the fate of another unknowing stranger. This time, number 14. As I released the dove and began to take notes on its flight pattern, the entire city went black. No lights- only the white of the falling snow, the red and violet
She was startled by the sound of blaring horns and sirens outside her window. She reached over and peeked through the blinds to satisfy her curiosity: she couldn't tell if the sirens were ambulances or fire trucks in her half-woken state. She was surprised that, by now, she wasn't able to sleep through the sound of the sirens.
The clock read 9:47am. She forcedly swung her legs over the side of the bed and slipped on her bedroom shoes. She'd figured it was a good thing that the sirens had woken her up this early--she was tired of wasting her days away by sleeping.
From the closet, she retrieved her one-point-five rolling papers and what remained of the gram she had bought the other day. She made her way to the wooden rocking chair that she kept in a corner of the room. She picked up the bible that had been collecting dust under the chair, blew off the dust and sat it in her lap. She flipped open the front cover and read, "PRESENTED TO," printed in all caps. "Nellie L. Gardner," written in faded, blue ink. She was immediately reminded of the 3-hour conversation between her and her grandmother that lead to her owning her grandmother's 27-year-old bible. She smiled--only slightly--and began to break down the weed over the words "HOLY BIBLE" on the cover.
She creased the one-point-five at about a fifth of the way up before she filled it--the way she had seen her grandfather do it for years. She rolled it up and moistened the strip at the top edge of the paper to seal it off. When she sealed the spliff off, she held it up to observe; she could tell she was getting better, but she wasn't as good as her grandfather, yet. She blew the residue from the cover of her Bible and set it back under the chair.
She got her matches from the pants she'd worn the previous day. She struck one and blew it out--she loved the smell. She used the next one she struck to light the joint and sat down on her bed.
As soon as she sat down, the alarm went off inside her building. She, in sudden excitation, could feel the perspiration seeping from her pores. The safety strobe light right above the door caught her attention. She nervously put on her sneakers, grabbed her coat and scarf and ran out of the building. With the smoking joint in hand, she'd figured it would be best if she moved, quickly, away from the apartments, especially since she had forgotten to ask if her room was a non-smoking one.
She accidentally flung the emergency exit door open so wide that it slammed against the chipping, brick wall. Again, she was startled. She emerged from the back alley onto Polaski panting. For a moment, she stood, caught her breath, and got herself together. She looked towards the book store as she took a long drag. She decided to walk in that direction--she wanted to see if she could tell what breed the man's dog was.
June discreetly caught up to them and realized that the dog was one of those helper dogs. As she got even closer, she heard the man say, "Heel, Shad." The dog and the man stopped and the man reached down to adjust the dog's harness. June walked around them to get a better look at the dog. As she circled around, she took another drag. The blind man turned his head in her direction and his nostrils began to flare. June stood there and watched the two of them. The man finished what he was doing and stood up straight with his nostrils still flaring. Still, June stood there and waited for a look of recognition to appear on the man's face. She took another drag and inhaled too deeply. She began to cough and the blind man suddenly began making his way inside of the coffee shop. As June stood there watching them, coughing, the blind man turned his head in her direction. He stood there, seeming to stare at June through the window.
It took a few seconds for June to ask herself, "What if he's not actually blind?" Her thought gave her the chills. She looked at her joint to break their stare, took another drag, and made her way to the Pawn Shop.
His head turned as June passed by.
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