Disclaims: Just realized a chunk of my blog was deleted and this was part of the elimination. Sad.
It was before we ever needed to take our heads up in the sky. It was a warm summer night and we laughed beside each other. We began to walk the train tracks, saw a dead fox, circled around its rotting flesh, then proceeded to the night. We didn’t know how long the walk was and we didn’t know exactly what we were walking for. There’d be hours of silence, hours of scattered conversations, and hours of staring down at our feet stumbling on the tracks. Ace, Mak, and I wore Jordan’s best friend’s shoes, four sizes too large for our feet. They felt like flippers, but we didn’t care. It was peaceful. Insects were fucking around with our limbs, and we were soon to find dozens of mosquito bites in all corners of our bodies the next morning. The tracks varied in all smells atrocious and unforgettable. The swamps lingered heavily and humidly. Mud, dead creatures, and the worn off scents of the girls’ summer perfumes. I remember being wrapped up in my thoughts, content and undisturbed. I was satisfied with the walk, with my friends, and with myself.
It was before we ever needed to take our heads up in the sky. It was a warm summer night and we laughed beside each other. We began to walk the train tracks, saw a dead fox, circled around its rotting flesh, then proceeded to the night. We didn’t know how long the walk was and we didn’t know exactly what we were walking for. There’d be hours of silence, hours of scattered conversations, and hours of staring down at our feet stumbling on the tracks. Ace, Mak, and I wore Jordan’s best friend’s shoes, four sizes too large for our feet. They felt like flippers, but we didn’t care. It was peaceful. Insects were fucking around with our limbs, and we were soon to find dozens of mosquito bites in all corners of our bodies the next morning. The tracks varied in all smells atrocious and unforgettable. The swamps lingered heavily and humidly. Mud, dead creatures, and the worn off scents of the girls’ summer perfumes. I remember being wrapped up in my thoughts, content and undisturbed. I was satisfied with the walk, with my friends, and with myself.
Roman spotted a train from miles away. We waited patiently and steadily. I walked near Mak, Jordan, and Karen. Ace walked ahead with Cody and Roman. As the train came to a near, we stepped off the tracks and slowly walked beside the approaching train. Up ahead I saw Ace, Cody, and Roman descend from the tracks, conversations loud and excited. The train sped right beside us, so we stopped, stared at the blurring speed of the train, and just stood there. I smiled at the thrill of the speed, of the satisfying standstill of that hour, of the warm sinking of my memory embedding. I looked ahead and saw Roman jump and Cody and Ace. They glorified. From hundreds of feet behind them, I felt their moment of happiness and gleamed. Their smiles screaming sincere, with no hesitation from our daily and superficial concerns. They looked like the innocence of childhood and of youth, huddled into their coincidental and silent agreement to hold each other excitedly. My god, we were invincible then. I looked at each face near me. I saw centered smiles and the will to continue a walk to nowhere. A walk to a city that sunk below us.
When we arrived at our supposed destination, we denied disappointment by never having an expectation at all. We saw roofs above swamps, abandoned houses, and the art of some street soul decorating the deteriorating walls. We didn’t find much of interest. We idly looked around, sunk in the view of this sunken city, then turned back around. We walked another long set of hours, this time in all silence. By the time we reached midway, the sun peeked from the hills. We walked peacefully, at our own pace, watching the morning cows and the morning sky.
