I Have Been Watching One Hour Loops Of Sings #quarantinetingz

i have been watching one hour loops of sings #quarantinetingz

More Posts from 1nd1g3st1on and Others

1nd1g3st1on

4 years ago

if you wanna give my short story some love <3

Before the Snow

short story by trivql

—

On my walk to school, everyday, I would see an apartment complex. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting about it–the building was gray and the balconies overlooked a lot abandoned by construction years ago. But still, everyday, I would still look up towards the apartments–just to see if anything was happening. Without fail, I would look up at an old lady’s apartment–her curtains were always open and the apartment consisted mostly of floral print–and see her watching the morning news. Sometimes if she saw me out on her balcony, she would wave. For some reason, that made me feel slightly happy. It was a constant in my life, and sometimes during class I would think about how serene her life was.

One day in particular, I walked to school like usual, except that it was winter and snow covered the pavement. The TV was on and she was sitting on her floral couch like usual–her face being blocked by the curtain. That day, class was especially mundane, the snow creating a gray cover over the city. I took out my journal and started to recreate the boring apartment complex, but instead of boring colors, they were bright and bold. I created a fantasy of the apartment; the abandoned lot was now a green park, the old lady was on her balcony with a cup of coffee, and the complex stood out, easily contrasting the boring buildings that filled the street. I quite liked the drawing actually, even though I’d never really been the type for art.

We’d never really had a conversation other than waving towards each other, so I wanted to pay my dues. That day afterschool, I would finally talk to the old lady, and give her my drawing. So once class had finally ended, I walked to the complex, but directly to it instead of passing it on my way home. It was weird though–my feet seemed to be dragging and my snow jacket felt heavier. The boring apartment complex that never really stood out, was now surrounded by an ambulance, red and white shined against it, almost illuminating it even. I stood and watched it at a distance, my hand unconsciously crumpling the drawing.

On a stretcher, was the old lady that would wave and watch TV in the morning. What seemed to be her kids, cried as they watched her get moved into the ambulance. Brother and sister, crying. Of course her kids were crying … but why was I? Not a single word shared between me and the lady, and I could feel tears sliding down my cheeks. Why? I had no right to be crying, so could someone explain to me why I was?

After a couple of days, word had spread around about the lady. She had passed out on the day her kids visited her. It was an undisclosed illness. Then before I knew it, I started to hate morning walks to school. The apartment was empty–no floral print, no morning news. I remember there being a sign that said lease available. Maybe if I had gathered the guts before, I would’ve been able to at least exchange some words between each other. But, the drawing lays folded in a box, and I still don’t see her on my way to school.

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1nd1g3st1on

4 years ago

and that is when the tears start flowing