Once upon a time…

For one more time, I couldn’t resist its smell, its aroma I’d rather say. I was taking my few-minute break, and I smelled it again and again as though I had never smelled it before. Quite round, with two little pieces sticking out at the bottom and a bigger one to the left; it was the head. If it didn’t have the outline drawn in blue color, you wouldn’t be able to tell what it depicted, but it was a… sheep, for sure. An eraser made so attractive to students of first grades, and so… delicious! No, I never went so far to eat it. Thank God, I was sane enough for my little age, but that rubber smelled… irresistibly good! I just bit on it a few times, but nothing more.

…

She was placing the one on top of the other, neatly arranged, as though they’d been her most precious treasure. They were colorful, made with thick and high quality wool, and pentagon-shaped, but they had no relation to the known building… no worries. Little crochet rugs to be placed on the floor around the house for warmth and decoration.

The grandmother used to sit on that big and comfortable wood folding chair with the green cushions that over time, sadly, looked like thinner than a piece of paper. Not that they were naturally worn out, but she was not the fittest person in the world… I was studying for my school classes, and she usually sat there, knitting, talking to me, and often… sleeping. The paradox? Every time I asked her to tell me any story from the past, she… “Oh, my kid, I don’t remember a thing…,” and in seconds she fell asleep. Every time I had so much to study and needed more concentration, it was like she was just given a memory shot, and she would start telling me a thousand and one stories she remembered…! I have never understood how life works with all those elders. To me, it is still a great mystery.

…

The sun is blinding today. I see it from a little window of the tiny basement. That is a great blessing. Otherwise, I would feel like a poor little rat in solitary confinement. The room has two little windows that allow you to see a bit outside. Not uncommon for someone to rent a basement in this city. After all, how can you make it here if you don’t have money in your pockets?

I’m sitting at the little desk, and I can barely see a tree outside and the clay-like roof tiles of the building across the street. Back then, I could see the neighbor’s big field filled with colorful produce, and two-three houses at a distance. It was a beautiful, medium-sized village, but I’d always liked big cities. I better realized that a little later. You see, no one can escape the genes… my mom is the same. Nature had always made me depressed. Have I landed here from another planet, or are there out there many others like me? Anyway, if I ever had to choose between nature and cities, I would choose… New York.

Published: August 21st, 2024 | Last Edited: August 21st, 2024 | MENTAL – THANK YOU, LIFE! | All Stories |