Even Flow
The City
My heart flutters as softly as a butterfly's wings. It's dark, but I can see the shimmers of light radiating off of the moon and stars above me. Even though they're galaxies away, these celestial bodies give me a sense of belonging as they smile down on me, doting on my long golden lochs of hair, my chocolate-brown eyes, and the random array of freckles across my porcelain pale cheeks. Turning my head I realize that I'm laying entranced in a wide open field, and I twist long blades of untouched grass through my fingers. At first, the only thing I could hear drifting through the warm breeze around me was a soothing lullaby that seemed to be floating farther and farther away. As the melody grew softer, and eventually disappeared, I felt sudden chills running up and down my spine.
Irritated, I grabbed my blankets with both my hands and hugged them closer. That's when I realized I was still in bed. Slowly opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was snow falling on the other side of my bedroom window. Forgetting completely about the cozy familiarity of the dream I had just had, I tossed my blankets aside. With no point in delaying the inevitable, it was easiest to dive right in. Without a moment to let my eyes adjust or wake up, I let my feet hit the cold, tile floor as I made my way to the mirror on top of my dresser. I tousled my now short black hair for only a moment before my eyes dared to wonder once more. In the reflection of the mirror, the outside world glared at me with menacing eyes.
I turned slowly and looked out across the street from my second story apartment in the city. Everything was covered in a sheet of white ice or snow. The selective trees that were planted along the side walks were gray and dead. All I could hear coming from the outside world was an intrusive car alarm going off, and then someone yelling down the street. Everything in the city was put there by someone to serve some purpose, but ironically enough nothing seemed to want to coincide with anything around it. I whispered words that couldn't be heard, and a hazy fog covered the window pane in front of me, blocking my sense of reality. For the first time since my childhood, I asked myself when and how everything had gotten so out of order. When and how did the waves of joy and comfort turn into static eruptions of conflict and hate? Where's the even flow from my waking dreams?
Irritated, I grabbed my blankets with both my hands and hugged them closer. That's when I realized I was still in bed. Slowly opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was snow falling on the other side of my bedroom window. Forgetting completely about the cozy familiarity of the dream I had just had, I tossed my blankets aside. With no point in delaying the inevitable, it was easiest to dive right in. Without a moment to let my eyes adjust or wake up, I let my feet hit the cold, tile floor as I made my way to the mirror on top of my dresser. I tousled my now short black hair for only a moment before my eyes dared to wonder once more. In the reflection of the mirror, the outside world glared at me with menacing eyes.
I turned slowly and looked out across the street from my second story apartment in the city. Everything was covered in a sheet of white ice or snow. The selective trees that were planted along the side walks were gray and dead. All I could hear coming from the outside world was an intrusive car alarm going off, and then someone yelling down the street. Everything in the city was put there by someone to serve some purpose, but ironically enough nothing seemed to want to coincide with anything around it. I whispered words that couldn't be heard, and a hazy fog covered the window pane in front of me, blocking my sense of reality. For the first time since my childhood, I asked myself when and how everything had gotten so out of order. When and how did the waves of joy and comfort turn into static eruptions of conflict and hate? Where's the even flow from my waking dreams?