The fall

They keep talking. Ok. They talk and talk, and I listen here from the adjacent table while I drink my beer. One, two, three, their words fall from their mouths to the pavement and break. I see the trace of ink leaving a bloody pool on the floor. Ok. I keep quiet for a moment, while I feel the bubbly alcoholic liquid become foam in my mouth. Alright.

They brought the bill. I see two coins resting on the table as I stand up. A pair of lonely rays of sun dance over the tabletop tying and untying a knot of light with their sinuous movements.

The sun rests above all, and its rays pierce the water’s skin. It is a lazy day and I walk down the road and in front of the river. Ok. I think. I lift my head and feel the flame of light burn my cheeks.

There is a placid minimal wind running eastwards following the course of the water. It plays with the river waves, curls of hair, sweet leaves of grass and unsuspecting hats in its race towards the sea.

If I close my eyes I can hear it. Yes, it is there. The sound of air carving a hollow circular cave in my ears. It is there, sunny and gray and cold, and full of ghastly winter chills and delicious summery warmth. I sit still on that bench. A few curious fingers of the ivy hanging from the wall behind me, touch the back of the seat. The water flows in front of me, relentless and quiet and the city and its gears are behind me, humming with the infinite complexities of human life.

I’ve found it. Ok. I think and smile. Something stirs inside my chest with the soft boiling caress of a sweet melancholy. It surrounds me, that big everything that fills the void with the noise of cars, the howling of ambulances and the hurried walking of pedestrians as they sprinkle the air with the clap clap of their steps. It is then that the sound of everything becomes the sound of nothingness, and the immensity of this big screaming world comes crashing down on my head.

A sweet green fragrance of grass and smoke in my nostrils. A headache and a feeling of fullness. My ankle hurts. Yes. It is ok and I keep walking. The horn shouts and I stop there, as I wait for the light to turn green.

 

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