alive

one [elle]

❝it inadvertently states not to be there for possibility of dying, when in reality, that's why we're all there❞

[elle]

I had begun to drive. Late at night, maybe even early in the morning, when no when else was awake. I'd drive around town, following dark and dirty roads, with the radio on and the doors unlocked. It made me feel real, it made me feel new.

I never saw anyone, with the exception of a few stray cats. Nightlife in Topeka was dull and quiet and controlled. We were all stuck on this track, going around and around, over and over. We walked simply because we were supposed to, and then we only questioned which way to go.

A commercial flickered on, then off quickly, as if a mistake had been made. I ignored it at first, but decided everyone would, and simply to be different and controversial, I decided not to.

It was an ad for Progressive, or Geico, or some car insurance company or other. It wasn't the beginning, more like a snippet of the middle. I wondered when it was actually supposed to play. How did the mistake even occur in a town of none? How many dollars were being spent on a stupid radio ad that only infuriated people? And before I could continue the thought, I was slamming on the brakes and holding back a scream.

A few shadowy figures dashed in front of the headlights, one almost tripping over nothing and falling into the car. He caught himself though, and dashed along into the night with the rest of his friends in black.

Definitely not stray cats.