Chapter 1 (Cont, Part 3)
In any case, the water levels had been high that year. People had been grumbling about the possibility of a flood, but nothing came of it. Still, the water had surged at its peak mere feet from the arches of the various bridges crossing the river and the various river walk footpaths had been well and truly submerged. As the levels had begun to ebb off, the damage done to the outlying area by months of raging current became more then apparent. While I hadn’t been back to the park in years it was clear that it was losing waterfront quite severely. The elements had carved out mini-cliffs along the water, large sections of former green space having fallen into the river and been carried off and broken down, never to be seen again.
I walked along the riverside, thinking of nothing in particular, stopping occasionally to examine particularly impressive damage: Trees half uprooted, buried drainage pipes revealed, that sort of thing. A slight breeze blew from the north but its bite was soft, merely brining a little color to my cheeks. As I continued to walk the sun fully set and my journey became marked only by the bright moonlight and the lights from houses on the other side of the river. The wind gained some intensity. It suddenly occurred to me that it had been quite a while since I had last seen any trace of another person, and took a moment to enjoy the solitude. Sure, there were the lights across the water, but they seemed so far away. For a brief moment there seemed to be silence: No cars, music, people… just a soft wind brushing against the water and trees, the last of the leaves softly rustling and occasionally surrendering to the inevitable and softly floating to the ground to join their brothers.
I closed my eyes and took a breath, a catharsis from the insanity that had filled the previous months. The world slowed down, if for a moment, and I allowed myself to feel completely contented. I don’t know what it was about that moment in particular. I’m not a nature-loving hippy or something. My solace is more usually found surrounded by friends and family, or engaged deeply in working. For some reason though, I went for that walk and on that walk had a true moment of relief. I don’t know what caused it, but I do have my theories. Perhaps it was simply the calm before the storm…
As I opened my eyes I saw a figure in the distance, like me walking upon the edge of the parkland, coming around the bend atop a ridge carved out of the terrain. As the figured advanced I began to pick out features in the moonlight. Medium length hair flowed in the breeze, light bounced off a leather jacket. Soon a profile emerged: An attractive girl- Do you mind if I don’t go crazy with descriptions? The last thing I would want is to go into all the nitty gritty physical crap only for you to say “What? That’s attractive?” I wouldn’t be crushed or anything- hell, everyone is entitled to their opinions – but it would kind of derail where I’m going with this thing.
See, here I was going along, telling a story somewhat proficiently and now I screw it all up by getting derailed by this. Maybe I just want my story to come across more universally. Already I feel like I’ve said too much about myself. I would rather that the reader be able to identify with me and what I’m saying. But hell, I’ve already screwed that up. First of all, your name is probably not Blake, and then there’s a slightly-higher-then-fifty percent chance that you’re not a guy either. And actors? I’ve really segregated myself from any target audience, haven’t I? Well… no, I’m getting too worked up now. Please, concentrate: Tell the story now, that would be a good idea, right?
So right- I’m in the park, walking alongside the river when I see an attractive well dressed female walking towards me, also alongside the river. Suddenly several things happen at once: The girl notices me and waves, revealing astonishing smile, a flight of geese fly above us, seemingly signaling some divine event and half way across the city a close friend places a package in a dumpster downtown.
Half of a second later more thing happen all at once: I fall surprisingly quickly in love, she falls surprisingly suddenly as the ground beneath her gives way and blocks away from the previously mentioned close friend my father unexpectedly suffers a heart attack at the age of 55.
I walked along the riverside, thinking of nothing in particular, stopping occasionally to examine particularly impressive damage: Trees half uprooted, buried drainage pipes revealed, that sort of thing. A slight breeze blew from the north but its bite was soft, merely brining a little color to my cheeks. As I continued to walk the sun fully set and my journey became marked only by the bright moonlight and the lights from houses on the other side of the river. The wind gained some intensity. It suddenly occurred to me that it had been quite a while since I had last seen any trace of another person, and took a moment to enjoy the solitude. Sure, there were the lights across the water, but they seemed so far away. For a brief moment there seemed to be silence: No cars, music, people… just a soft wind brushing against the water and trees, the last of the leaves softly rustling and occasionally surrendering to the inevitable and softly floating to the ground to join their brothers.
I closed my eyes and took a breath, a catharsis from the insanity that had filled the previous months. The world slowed down, if for a moment, and I allowed myself to feel completely contented. I don’t know what it was about that moment in particular. I’m not a nature-loving hippy or something. My solace is more usually found surrounded by friends and family, or engaged deeply in working. For some reason though, I went for that walk and on that walk had a true moment of relief. I don’t know what caused it, but I do have my theories. Perhaps it was simply the calm before the storm…
As I opened my eyes I saw a figure in the distance, like me walking upon the edge of the parkland, coming around the bend atop a ridge carved out of the terrain. As the figured advanced I began to pick out features in the moonlight. Medium length hair flowed in the breeze, light bounced off a leather jacket. Soon a profile emerged: An attractive girl- Do you mind if I don’t go crazy with descriptions? The last thing I would want is to go into all the nitty gritty physical crap only for you to say “What? That’s attractive?” I wouldn’t be crushed or anything- hell, everyone is entitled to their opinions – but it would kind of derail where I’m going with this thing.
See, here I was going along, telling a story somewhat proficiently and now I screw it all up by getting derailed by this. Maybe I just want my story to come across more universally. Already I feel like I’ve said too much about myself. I would rather that the reader be able to identify with me and what I’m saying. But hell, I’ve already screwed that up. First of all, your name is probably not Blake, and then there’s a slightly-higher-then-fifty percent chance that you’re not a guy either. And actors? I’ve really segregated myself from any target audience, haven’t I? Well… no, I’m getting too worked up now. Please, concentrate: Tell the story now, that would be a good idea, right?
So right- I’m in the park, walking alongside the river when I see an attractive well dressed female walking towards me, also alongside the river. Suddenly several things happen at once: The girl notices me and waves, revealing astonishing smile, a flight of geese fly above us, seemingly signaling some divine event and half way across the city a close friend places a package in a dumpster downtown.
Half of a second later more thing happen all at once: I fall surprisingly quickly in love, she falls surprisingly suddenly as the ground beneath her gives way and blocks away from the previously mentioned close friend my father unexpectedly suffers a heart attack at the age of 55.
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