Say Hello to the Night

Dawn Decides to Live

Running out the door with her bagel Dawn smiled as soon as the sun hit her face. Today would be a good day, a day with a refreshed outlook on life. It wasn't a far run to the road side garden stand she has convinced her grandparents to start once they had too much fresh produce around there own home. Dawn filled her wagon with all the fruit and vegetables shed picked and washed the night before and took off down the road in a mad dash.

Dawn was always considered a "lively" individual. She had a bad habit of being a handful, most people wouldn't know that as she didn't have many friends and almost never went into town. Everyone who did know her however, would not be surprised to see the large girl run over the hill. Her mess of curls jumping along with barrelling towards the road to her stand. Dawns skirt blowing in the sea air as she gripped the wagon.

It would also be no surprise to anyone that knew dawn that her stand had no line, there was no one waiting for her that or that dawn herself was actually right on time.  "The Green Onion" opened every morning at 8:00, it was 7:32. While dawn considered it a stand it was more of a roadside market. As she neared the building she finally slowed with a huff, wagon nearly running over her heels.

"Good morning old girl." She spoke in laboured breathes barely above a whisper

She walked in the doorway of the sun damaged building. It was a deep shade of dream with cream details. The insides checkered tiles were cracked and faded and the whole floor was lined with old wooden stands for fruit and vegetables.

It still smelled like her grandmothers perfume.

" Dawn what are you doing here, we didn't expect you back to work so soon after.." A young mans voice trailed off causing Dawn to turn.

" Oh Nathan please, if anything it helps being here makes me feel close to them." Wearing a soft smile dawn began loading tomatoes into place.

 Nathan had worked in the shop since he was 16. Dawn never considered him a friend because he was always, a little too interested in her and with him now being 21 he had hardly given up on her. Dawn was now 20 and no more interested in Nathan  than she was at 15.

Her statement about her grandparents seemed to be enough to settle the man for pushing further. Nathan wasn't ugly, rude, he didn't smell, yet Dawn knew he wasn't right for her she saw him as a brother and was always, always there for her. She thought of him as family with them being raised together

After setting out the produce and writing out the days deals on her little chalk board sign dawn opened her market. Most of her customers where families stopping on their way into town stocking up for their vacations by the shore. Dawns mind wondered off while she was selling tomatoes to a family of four. They looked in wonder all around their shop, taking in all the fresh smells and home made products. She often wondered about her upbringing, what would her life have been like had she been raised in a "normal situation".

"Life is to short for normal kiddo, sometimes we are thrown into messy weird situations just for the hell of it! Make the most of em' they tend to be the most fun." Grandpa Simon's eyes wrinkled as he laughed a soft but deep earthly laugh.

Dawn couldn't help but smile at the memory. Watching on as the family left the store laughing she smiled. They would most likely be heading to town and with that the boardwalk. Truth be told for someone who lived down the shore Dawn almost never went into town. She had never seen the "famed" Santa Carla boardwalk.  Her grandma Sophie had always warned her about the dangers of going into town.

" Dawn I'm not saying we don't want you to go honey, I'm just sayin', people go into town and never come back. Must be the tides drawing all the crazy into one place." Sophie was always worried about going into town. All the population overwhelmed the old woman.

With a soft smile Dawn had made up her mind, she was going to live. She was going to take in life to its fullest. That meant finally going into town. Finally stepping on the boardwalk and taking in the surge of life that was The Murder Capital of the World.  That night after work dawn would take her rusty red moped into town. She was going to live just like her grandparents did.