Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Robe

I walked out of Watershed Heights into a mess. The inch of snow along with the accompanying storm we got made the sewers overflow once again, turning all the streets and sidewalks into a filthy, brown-grey shit-hole. And of course it got all over my brand new white socks.
I was leaving because I was hungry, and so decided to give the Vietnamese restaurant a try. I'd never eaten Vietnamese before, but figured if I didn't like anything they would at least understand what "hamburger" means. So I started the long walk, and was able to overlook my slimy feet for now.
An icy wind started blowing, and I realized I hadn't brought a coat. So I started walking faster and faster with the thought of a warm, juicy hamburger in my belly. Then I heard weird, gibberish yells coming from up the street. I squinted, trying to focus my failing eyesight on the unknown up ahead.
What the hell is he doing?! I thought. The man, or whatever it was, was waving a large stick around and pointing at lampposts saying what sounded like different consonants jumbled together. Why is everyone else but me crazy in this town? I don't fit in here. It's not like I'm crazy...
Ignoring the nag in the back of my mind doubting myself, I kept going. Why is he wearing a red robe anyways? What is he, like Little Red Riding Hood? It even looks soft like something she would wear! And I bet it has fur--
Wait.
Wait.
It's not happening again. I force my feet to stop moving and my eyes to close. But of course the darkness under my eyelids makes the memory of the red robe even more intense. No! I will not let this happen again, I will not- And then the wind blew with all its might, as if it were pushing me in the direction of the fluttering, warm, red robe. My eyes snapped open, and in the same instant my short, fat legs were propelling me towards the figure. I did not, could not even imagine what he could do with that stick. My only thought was of the robe.
In one fluid moment my hand stuck out and snatched the robe off of the man while I kept running. And kept running. The pounding of my feet drowned out the loud, manic gibberish coming out of the man's mouth as I left him behind. I put on the robe as I kept running, out of sight, towards the Vietnamese restaurant. And then all of a sudden I realized I wasn't hungry anymore.