April 29th, 2015
April walks down a street of her neighborhood in the middle of the night, wearing her favorite Nike hoodie and her IPod headphones. The headphones connect her to a world of music, her eyes connect her to a night of purple skies and late summer night nostalgia that promises never to leave her. The bridge that stretches out over the highway is vacant, but she doesn’t cross it yet. It isn’t time to go from one side to the other; from the side of side by side dollhouses to the other, of dentist offices where the best form of payment is a smile of bullshit, and to bars and pizza places where Chicago’s number one pizza actually means Chicago’s most difficult lie to swallow and gulp down after a long day of school, work, or watching The Price Is Right Only When You Think It Is, OR When You’re Not Looking.
April was about to walk towards this bridge, listening to a song by Beyoncé and Jay-Z. She couldn’t grasp the title of it, but she knew that it got her. It held her in comfort as she didn’t care what could have happened to her, alone in a neighborhood- she felt like the alarming nature of the song was enough to scare someone off for miles. Of course any predator would have no idea what song she was listening to, and it wouldn’t be able to affect that predator in any way, but the beat that sweats through her bones and skin suggested otherwise. The word RED flashed in the back of April’s mind, red letters on a chalkboard, dripping with paint, and it was all because of the song, the energy of the song, the danger of the song.
But she needn’t worry, because there was no one to threaten her, though through the willow trees she could see a couple of teenagers. A willow that bent over the couple stood silent, embracing the couple and their actions. April could see them, the way they looked at each other with wanting and serenity. The boy gripped his arms around her waist; the girl turned her head to look him in the eyes. Although the boy stood with strength, the girl held the authority. She held on to his hands that formed a fist around her, and looked down to the ground. Then she looked up and kissed him on the forehead.
What made this stand out to April, apart from any other demonstration of PA, in the halls, the store, or any other place where people look out for each other, is that an illuminance of red fell over the couple, like a shadow of an umbrella. The girl’s hair was a mess of curls, and died a dark, fake auburn color, and the boy’s hair was also a mess of black curls. The girl wore a tank top, the boy a backwards cap. April thought this was the most beautiful thing she’d seen all summer. The street light fell over them and various shades of red and orange made it look like they could even survive the flames of hell in their embrace.
April walked over the bridge and looked down at the cars that passed over. April watched the headlights until the honking of a horn broke her gaze. She walked home, and each time she passed her shadow, she remembered the couple, as peaceful as deer, and as beautiful as the fading night sky.