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| Partial picture credit (can't find the original artist in this website or anywhere else) |
I'm coming back home on a spring day. The sunset increases the contrast of city colors; the horizon is plastered with blues, oranges and yellows. I twist my nose at the garbage on the street and hear the voices behind me.
"Bro, it was so easy!"
"Dunno, man..."
"Swear ya. It was, like, pitch black, like. No way they saw my face. Girls are easy to do, bro."
I feel him smirking and my fingers roll tightly into fists. They seem not to notice me.
"Really, it was like... two seconds, bro! They were coming like right at me. The street was dark already and there was those trees. Kinda scary. But it was like a desert so no chance the cops could get there in time. Irress... Irressis - You know!"
"Irresistible."
"Yeah! You're the brain-man! Like that villain in the cartoon. Superman, like."
I start thinking of alternate ways. I certainly don't want to lead these two to my doorstep. I don't want them having brilliant ideas.
"I mean it, bro. I took one grand like that!" He snapped his fingers. "Easy as shit."
I relax a bit but my indignation stabs me like a broken beer bottle.
"A G?"
"Yeah." I feel him grinning, his rapper sneakers, the below waste jeans and his sideways Yankees. I feel his pride and his friend's greed; another crook coming to life. I feel them closing in and my eyebrows have a nice little gathering on my forehead. I stop to cross the street and contemplate the alternatives. There are still two blocks to get home and the week's work is collecting its toll, weighting on my shoulders and dragging my stomach down. Is it worth walking one extra block or they don't even know I'm here? Such a stupid idea to wear a skirt today... I hold my breath, the stoplight flashes green and I hear their voice dissolving in the past. I breathe out and carry the weight home.
*
This is a translated piece so please forgive any strangeness. Besides, I'm rusty!
