The World After

Just a Walk

I begin my nightly walk as I always do, grabbing my bag, water canister, jacket, and other things that I might need for my trip. Most would advise against walking around at night especially with the current circumstances but I do it anyway, mostly because it's therapeutic. It's just a walk through the city after all. Most of the time I don't have to deal with much traffic, occasionally I see a car pass by me going at a slow speed and eventually vanishing into the foggy abyss. In any case I walk.

I like to think while I walk, it helps me get my thoughts together. I make observations about the same buildings I pass every night detailing their condition every time I see them. Most of the buildings are sad, broken down, and abandoned. A few buildings on the north side of the city are in use but I don't walk around there. Some buildings I can guess what their purpose was just by looking at them. Others I have no idea what they were used for and like to create far fetched stories for them. Stories that give me hope.

The roads on this side of the city are mostly out of use. They're littered with holes, blocked
off, or split in two. The sidewalks aren't much better but they're more maneuverable than the main roads. The route I walk takes me on a path to the eastern outskirts there's a nice view of the lights from there. I love to look at the lights that shine in the east. The bright green blending into a yellow and blue. I never get too close to the lights, it gets a bit warmer the closer I get. Nevertheless I watch the lights dreading the day I see them no more.

I never leave the city though, I've lived here my whole life and I don't know many other places to go. Back before dad left and mom died we lived in a nice apartment here. 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and it was great. We'd wake up, have breakfast then mom would leave for work and dad would take me on a walk through the city letting me see the hustle and bustle of life. Dad and I would have lunch at our favorite diner everyday. It was a cheap place that made some great food and had better service. I loved that diner but I never learned the real name of the it. My dad would always call it "Dan's" since he knew the owner, his name was Dan. We'd leave Dan's after lunch and then we'd head home taking a long route to take in the afternoon air. We'd get home and then an hour later Mom would arrive.

Mom and Dad were happy together during the day. I don't think the sun ever saw them argue. When the sun went down was a different story. When the sun went down and I went off to bed, I'd hear dad talking to mom about a job, something that always brought her to tears. Dad never seemed to happy about it either but he seemed more optimistic than my mom. One thing they always mentioned was a deadline. I began to count down the days until the deadline, curiously waiting to see what would happen. That deadline was the day that dad left. The last thing that dad told me was to be good to mom and that he'd come back before I knew it.

He never did

I always held out hope that he would but he never did. I always asked mom when dad would come home and I never really got much of a response. My mom would always say "soon baby" or "before you know it" and it always made me sad. Mom started not going to work but she never took me out like dad used to. One day I asked her if she could take me to Dan's and she gave me the news.

"Dan's is closed. The owner left"

"Where is he?"

"With your father..."

When I got this information I was sad. Dan's was the only thing left that I had of my dad and I guess he took that with him too...