The Walk Home

   The office cubical job has always been a pretty miserable experience for me. I sit next to a window that looks out over smokestacks as companies produce products for the atmosphere that are more unproductive than productive. The alley below my window at the bottom of the building is full of stray cats, with no other goal in mind except to survive. I think most people can relate to that lifestyle. The feeling of being trapped in a cycle of work, and sleep. Work, and sleep. Work, and sleep. Day in, day out. No time to do anything that you’re passionate about, no time for a fulfilling life. The brick walls of the surrounding buildings feel like a cell.

“Finally, now I can go home!”

I type up the last few words on the document I’m working on, pack up my backpack, and walk out the front door. Saying goodbye to my coworkers as I leave. That breath of fresh air is so relieving after being stuck in an office all day. A ray of sun hits my eyes as I walk down the sidewalk shining into my glasses, I close my eyes tight and feel myself bump into something. I fall to the ground landing on my backpack. I sit up, a woman is sitting up in front of me. She frantically stands to her feet, clearly in a rush.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry, are you okay?!” She says sporadically

“Yeah, I’m okay, are you?” I say back.

“Never been better!” 

This puzzles me, she seems to be in a huge rush, and not in a good way.

“I have a meeting with a film company to go to, they offered me a directing position for a movie that I pitched to them a while back, but I have to hurry before I miss my train!”

“That’s incredible! I hope it all goes well for you!” I respond cheerfully. 

“Thank you!” She says happily.

She recomposes herself and runs away without turning back.

I open my bag to look for any damage, luckily nothing seems to be broken.

“Hopefully she succeeds.” I think to myself as I turn the corner.

The crowded streets are bustling with people going through their daily lives. My commute takes me right past Central Park. A couple is sitting on a bench under the shade of a sugar maple tree. The man gets off the bench and gets down on one knee, pulling out a beautiful diamond ring. The woman covers her mouth swiftly. I can only assume she says yes as she jumps into his arms. I stop to clap for the two of them along with a few others on the sidelines. I look at the time and realize I need to get home to make dinner. As I continue my walk I look up into a top floor window of Lenox Hill Hospital, a little girl is staring out into the horizon with her hands pressed against the glass.

“That floor is for cancer patients”, I thought to myself as a sudden sadness looms over me.

This sadness is quickly diminished when I notice that she is smiling from ear to ear. I catch a glimpse of a banner flying in the wind. I look over to the other building across the street as a group of people starts cheering, “stay strong, be brave!”. The group is holding up a sign that says “Keep pushing forward, you’re all so strong, cancer can’t beat you, you can beat it!” The feeling of warmth fills my heart as they release balloons into the sky for all the kids to enjoy. The sun breaks through the clouds and shines through the balloons, creating a rainbow of color that washes over the hospital. However, the clouds soon block out the sun once again. Dwindling the balloons neon glow. It feels gloomy as it begins to rain. As I walk past an alleyway, I catch a glimpse of a cat under the cover of a broken chair. I stop for a second and look at him. His glistening blue eyes shine extra bright against the contrast of his dark wet fur. He looks scared. I take a step closer, he creeps backward never taking his eyes off of me. I grab my damp backpack as I look for something to give him. I find a case of sardines. I heard that they were really good for you so I had picked some up the other day. I couldn’t stand the taste of them though. Slimy, chewy, canned into a little peal back container. It doesn’t taste like something a human should eat. 

“One man’s trash is another cat’s lunch!” I said to myself as I placed the tin of sardines onto the ground in front of me.

The kitten hesitates but decides to cautiously approach the tin. He smacks it with his paw a few times before trusting that it’s safe and takes one of the sardines. After only a few minutes he has finished the whole thing, I look at him, and he looks at me. Giving him a smile I turn and walk away. I reach East 76th Street, only a block or two away from my apartment. I pass a small convenient store on my right, practically hugging the wall so people can get by, their umbrellas form a canopy over the damp sidewalk. I decide to take a step into the store and look around. I grab a bag of chips at the back on a shelf. I walk up to the counter and place the bag of chips down. The woman behind the counter greets me with a smile as she grabs the bag and scans the barcode. She hands me back the bag of chips. I can tell she is putting on a face. 

“Is everything okay?” I ask

Her smile quickly dissipates.

“Yeah, the store manager told me that I have to take the shift for Saturday. I was planning on going with my boyfriend to the beach, but I have to cancel my plans now.” She says with a disgruntled tone.

“It’s going to be downpouring this Saturday, so a beach day probably wouldn’t be the best idea.”, I say while trying to give off a positive vibe.

“Really?!” She says surprised.

Her smile begins to return as she realizes the situation.

“Well, I guess everything happens for a reason!” 

“You got that right!” I say cheerfully in response.

I say goodbye and take a step outside the store. The rain has stopped and the sky is clear again. I walk the two blocks back to my house. Opening my door I throw my jacket onto the hook and flop onto the couch.

“The news is usually cheerful!” I think to myself sarcastically.

I grab my remote and flash the news on the screen. After about 25 minutes of politics, the news reporter says something that really grabs my attention.

“The only train leaving from Grand Central Terminal today has derailed on its way into Boston, reports say there was a faulty wheel in the front of the train, that broke as it took a turn into Campello Train Station. Rescue teams do not report any deaths, but many injuries. At least twenty-five people have been rushed into intensive care.”

I sit up as my heart begins to race.

“That woman I ran into on the sidewalk!” I think to myself as my mind begins to wander.

I block out all other ambient noises in the room as I zone in on the screen. The reporter continues talking, going into the statistics of the situation and constantly receiving updates about its severity. The camera pans over a crowd of people who have been pulled from the wreckage. People are being loaded into ambulances and the place is a mess. My heart is still beating rapidly, hoping all these people make it out okay in the end. However; no matter where I look, I do not see the woman.

“Did she miss the train?!” 

The next day, I stopped into a Dunkin Donuts on the way to work. I notice a person sitting in a corner booth looking out the window. It was the woman I had run into the previous day. My heart starts filling with excitement as I walk over to her table, she looks upset, distraught even. I gently tap my hand on the table a few times to get her attention. She looks up and is surprised to see that it’s me.

“Oh, hi!” She says annoyed.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her despite knowing exactly what is wrong.

“I missed the train, the only train. The train that would be transporting me to my future. She starts to get emotional.

I gently put my hand on her shoulder. She looks up at me, her face full of different emotions. Hard to describe exactly the way she is feeling.

“I’m sorry you missed the train, but I honestly am so grateful I bumped into you yesterday!” I say sincerely.

“You’re glad that I lost a chance at a job?!” Her face quickly turns into anger and frustration.

“You heard the news right?!” I say swiftly back.

She starts to talk faster and get even more emotional, almost causing a scene. Then she pauses to process what I said.

“What news?”

“The train you were going to be on derailed on its way into Boston after it took a turn. Twenty-five people were rushed to intensive care. If the sun hadn’t blinded me for a moment that day and you passed by, there is a good chance you would be very hurt right now, or worse.”

She pauses and takes a step back, apologizing for her behavior.

“No need to apologize, I can understand you’re frustration, but it could be much worse.”

“The deception of unlucky luck!” she says cleverly back.

She thanks me for calming her down. We exchange numbers and go our separate ways. I buy a coffee and sit down in the corner booth. Across the street, at the hospital, a crowd of people is gathered outside the front entrance. I stand up to get a glimpse of the conundrum. The same white “You’re Strong” sign is being held up. The front doors open and the little girl I had seen in the hospital window is wheeled out in a wheelchair. A big smile appears on my face.

“Despite there being a lot of clouds lately, the sun seems to be prevailing!” I think to myself as who I can presume to be her mother runs up to the chair and embraces her.