No doubt people must have wondered about this lone woman who was sitting out in the dark by herself. Everyone else was with at least one other person or was part of a group.
She'd gone out to one of the patios to admire the beautiful full moon and enjoy the cool breeze after a very long day. This time she had remembered to bring a flashlight with her. The last night she'd come out to this quiet spot to make a call, she hadn't seen the ants that were covering the table where she had placed her snack.
That night, there was very little light and only a handful of people were quietly talking by the firepit a distance away. She hadn't noticed the ants until they were crawling up her arm. This night she didn't want to be surprised again.
Tonight, though it was lovely out, it wasn't nearly as peaceful as it had been on other nights. There were a lot of revelers flowing out of the bar area. Some kind of sporting event in town. The hotel was full up.
A staggering young man came up to her and asked for a cigarette. She told him that she was sorry but she didn't smoke. He stood there for a while and seemed to be considering what to do next. At that moment, she realized how very vulnerable she actually was in that lonely spot. But she'd had to dig deep into her courage a lot these days, so she didn't break her gaze.
Then she straightened her spine, sat up a little straighter and continued to look directly into the young man's eyes. She said again that she was sorry she couldn't help him out.
The young man was the one who was the first to look down, then he stepped away and went out the gate. Sometimes we forget that within each of us, exists a level of strength and power of will that can serve us when needed.
After the young man had left, she got up and walked into the lobby. It was filled with other drunken young men, who were slurring their words, and yet who were working nevertheless to try to speak in a precise manner, then laughing uproariously at what must have seemed to them was brilliant wit. She thought that no doubt they thought they were being quite witty as people do when they are in their cups or high on pot.
No, tonight it wasn't very peaceful down here at all, and the frivolity wasn't the healthy enlivening sort. No happy energy here, just a kind of yucky and sad inebriated noise.
Though she really had wanted to sit out and enjoy the beautiful night, and didn't yet want to go up to her lonely room, she did. She turned on the TV. The silly movie, Meteor Man, was on. A welcome distraction. She sat down and watched till the heroes won out.
Posted by Judi at August 31, 2012 11:43 PM | TrackBack