Monday, August 29, 2005

A Moment's Glory

"There is nothing in it for me here" he mumbled. She just looked at him, then focused on the road again. "I'm bored. I feel useless." He plays with the radio controls, switching through the different stations, settling on each for less than a second. "You know, I spent my life working towards a goal, and now I see that it was all a lie. This wasn't the right path."

She turned off the radio and just sped along the road. There was no one else, and all they raced was the soothing wind. "So why don't you leave?"

"Leave? Go where?"

"Anywhere else." She slows down and takes the curve. "Anywhere else. You have been complaining ever since you graduated. This is what this area has to offer. You knew that. I knew that. I know your work is boring you. I know that you can achieve much greater things. But you can't keep complaining."

"What else is there to do?"

She turned the radio back on. Conversations like this weren't meant to end. Questions were asked and suggestions were given, but it was anyone's guess to what was the right way. The Right Way. What the hell was that supposed to mean anyway?

"Listen" he said. She was puzzled, and then picked up Peter Gabriel's song on the radio.

Still loving what's gone
Said life carries on...
Carries on and on and on...
And on
The news that truely shocks
is the empty, empty page
While the final rattle rocks
Its empty, empty cage...
And I can't handle this
I grieve...
For you

"I can't leave." he continues. "I can't leave her alone."

She held his hand. His mother had died several years ago. Although he never directly discussed it, she knew he would never get over that. He was caught on one side of a rift too large for him to really ever cross.

They reached the end of the road, and parked the car. He slowly opened the door, and pulled himself out, walking to the edge.

He could see the entire city from this spot. The lights flickered, and a thin fog waved over the buildings and the roads. She followed him out of the car. He had a small smile on his face. "No matter what happens, no matter if things don't go the way I want to, I know that this is my city. This is my home."

He stared on at nothing in particular. His rythmic breathing complemented the throbbing trees as they swayed in the wind, and his eyes flittered around, trying to make the city whole. He watched on, as did she. This was his home. This was his world.

In this moment, nothing else really mattered.

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