Journey Through Brooklyn

Sara hated cleaning. So much so she avoided it like the plague.

What part of it was fun? None.

Sara was far too busy. She had two jobs, volunteered at the animal shelter and took online classes. At twenty four she wanted to spread her wings and live life.

Ellie (her roommate) was the complete opposite.

To say Ellie was a neat freak was under statement. The girl folded everything. She emptied the cast's litterbox daily, always made her bed and never left a dish in the sink. Ellie never seemed to mind that Sara was messy. Sure she made remarks somedays.

"You better be careful in here you might lose your feet."

" I can always tell when your home alone the place starts to stink."

" One day your going to lose something important in this mess."

***

The two friends dreamed of living in Manhattan. But they settled on

Brooklyn for both the space and even better rent.

The two girls had completely opposite schedules. They often felt like ships passing by. Sara longed to hang out with her best friend.

And since Ellie was now dating Jack there just wasn't anytime.

Sara liked him just fine but needed Ellie back. A girls night in was long overdue.

At the end of another exhausting week she envisioned plans for the weekend.

Loveseat, Netflix, cuddles with cat and plenty of pizza.

Another bonus of Brooklyn. And exactly in that order.

***

At five thirty Friday afternoon Sara entered the apartment. She couldn't remember the last time she was home before Ellie. She greeted Pancake at the door. He wound his silky tail through her legs as she tossed her keys in an empty bowl. He was eager to see her after being by himself all day. The cat scurried past her as she placed the mail on the tiny counter.

"Who's a good boy? Buddy its you." She told him.

Sara changed into a graphic tee shirt and gray sweatpants.

Ellie arrived home, Sara was across the loveseat with the cat on her lap. "Your home early."

"I skipped lunch and left by five. Pizza is on its way." Sara said.

Ellie looked over the mail. Sara flipped through channels.

"Hey, you wanna have a movie night?" Sara asked her.

"I have something better planned." Sara looked confused.

"You said Friday was girls night." Ellie grinned.

"I remember. I'm taking a shower. I will explain after."

***

The night turned out better than Sara expected. Ellie invited two of their friends over. The ladies ate junk food, drank beer and laughed till after midnight. Sara must have dosed off. A loud noise on the TV woke her. She yawned and headed for bed.

After four hours of sleep she woke in a sour mood. She had decided to tackle the mess in the apartment. And after two cups of coffee nothing would stop her now. She focused on the breakfast dishes first. Then emptied the trash, tossed the old mail and emptied the litterbox for the first time. Once the kitchen was defeated she headed for her bedroom. She made her bed and picked up her dirty laundry. The closet was a momentous task. But she had to keep going.

She opened the doors and took a deep breath. The shelf contained everything from board games, shoe boxes, love letters, greeting cards and hundreds of books. Sara always loved reading.

After rummaging through the contents for almost two hours she made three piles on her carpet. Keep, Trash and Donate.

Three shoe boxes down and ten more to go.

She lifted the lid on the next one. It contained a library book.

Tribute by Nora Roberts. Sara had enjoyed this one.

Upon inspection she realized it was long overdue.

"Now I guess I'm heading to the library too." She said with dread.

***

Out on the crowded sidewalk Sara hails a cab. The traffic was horrendous and the driver cursed more than anyone should. After only a few blocks the cab began to over heat and the angry driver ushered her out. She reached in her tote bag and felt the spine of her book.

"Now what?" She said to herself.

The subway. But once she got on she remembered why she never rode the train. It was extremely crowded and half of the passengers had BO really bad. Sara tried to hold her breath and pray it would be over soon.

No sooner had she thought this when the train came screeching to a halt. A loud voice broke in over head.

"Attention everyone due to technical problems on the tracks we ask that you exit at this time. Thank you."

Sara leaped from the train car. She began to walk but lost her balance landing on the tracks. At that exact moment the train came to life and flew over her as she tried not to move.

Out of the tunnel she stepped into Prospect Park. It was a lovely afternoon. A brilliant sun shone above. The park was full of families on Saturday. Some were walking, others rode bikes and a few hurried past her on skate boards. She wanted to be home before it was dark. She started to jog and ran until her legs burned.

Not wanting to admit defeat she became desperate.

She waited until the teens started talking. When they were good and distracted, she leaned over and scooped up one of the boards for herself. With the wind in her face and the book in her arms she felt to guilt at all.

The park turned into the Brooklyn Bridge. Sara was dumb founded.

She pushed the board aside and started to walk across. The day turned dark and windy. Her legs felt heavy and she slowly made her way to the middle. The more the wind howled the more fragile the bridge became. Sara started to panic when she noticed the suspension cables were swaying from side to side.

"I've come this far I wont stop now! For all you book lovers!"

With fear against her and her heart pounding in her chest she pressed on. At the end of the bridge she could see the New York Public Library. A smile came over her face.

Sara took off at a full run. When she got to the library the doors were all locked.

"No!" She screamed

***

Sara opened her eyes. She was sweating and out of breath.

She jumped out of her bed and ran to find Ellie.

Her friend was at the table having her coffee.

"What's the matter you look a wreak?" Ellie said.

"I had the most horrible dream. I cleaned up my room and..."

Ellie almost spit out her coffee. She started to laugh.

"Let me guess you lost the remote? No you fainted from the smell."

"No, listen I was trying to return a library book but no matter how I tried, everything kept going wrong. It was awful."

"Don't worry it was only a dream. Get dressed. We are going shoe shopping in twenty minutes."

***

Outside their building, Sara begins to search through her bag.

"Ok what is it?" Ellie said.

"I forgot my phone. Give me two minutes."

Sara takes the stairs to the third floor. Inside the apartment she is unable to find her cell. She searches the kitchen but its no where in sight. Its not in her bedroom. She stands by the closet and thinks about when she seen it last.

With her phone in her hand she leaves. Pancake hurries into Sara's bedroom. He makes his way through her laundry and plops down on top of something. But he isn't comfortable. He finally scurries under her bed. The cat falls asleep along side Tribute.