The hundreds and thousands of windows illuminated the barren highway, dozens of little clocks chiming midnight. A bus sped past Xandra. Her bus.
She looked at her wristwatch, 12:30. She had just finished her shift that evening at the convenience store; her night shift at a 7-11 was starting soon. Xandra's face remained still, lips pressed into a thin line, half-lidded eyes drooping ever more.
I'd just have to walk there, she thought, taking a step away from the waiting shed. There was no wind, but it was unbearably cold. Summer started a week ago, though the nights seemed stuck still in winter.
Xandra tucked her collar closer to her neck. If only she had brought a scarf, or a jacket. Maybe she'd been too hopeful in the summer.
A cold wind brushed past her, clawing blonde hair away from her face. Xandra drew a rare gasp, of what seemed like the first time she had opened her mouth. The hairs on her arms and neck stood, and her fists curled around her shirt. How ridiculous. Was the world really that insistent?
Her teeth chattered, and she didn't realize she had stopped in front of a park. The red benches glimmered under the busy buildings' lights. Xandra checked her watch again, 12:44. Her boss worshiped punctuality to a concerning degree. She would be lucky if she was fired.
I'll just take a taxi.
In the reflection of the closed shop in front of her, a white taxi sped past. When Xandra turned around there was nothing left except the empty street.
How ridiculous.
Xandra wasn't laughing.
She found herself walking toward the red bench instead. She sat down with the stiffness she always wore, hand to her lap, back ramrod straight. The park wasn't anything fancy or pretty. There was a swing to her left, yellow paint flaking off its metal seats. To her right was a row of closed stalls, upside down tables decorating their counters.
Xandra's frown deepened. Losing one job is fine, her boss was insufferable anyway, and the pay couldn't cover even the fertilizer for her plants. Right, right. Her body was as still as it could be, but her face started to sour. Her hands curled into fists on top of her lap.
Yes, her boss treated his employees like dogs. Losing this job is fine, a blessing, even. But her lips were trembling now. Xandra thought of college, her rent, how hard engineering was. She remembered her parents; the call she had early this morning.
The memory was fuzzy to her now, but she could still recall bits and pieces of the phone call...Pack your bags...Go...Blossom Hill...Vacation...? Xandra held her forehead with a palm and closed her eyes. Something flitted across her mind's eye. She bowed her head to her knees.
She remembered someone with long, brown hair. A lush garden, a sad house...a boy...Wh...what am I...he was smiling...smiling..?
Xandra regained her breath, the sound of water running through her ears. She didn't want to close her eyes again, not yet. So she rested her neck on the park bench, staring at the starless sky framed by towering lights.
Water lightly spritzed on the top of her head.
Slowly, she stood up on shaky legs to see the fountain behind the bench. She sat on the rim of it, watching the dozens and hundreds of coins glimmering under the water.
With one hand, she pushed sweaty strands out of her face, looking at her reflection in the water. There was nothing much to it.
A harsh reminder of something flashed in her mind; she gripped the edge of the fountain. Xandra turned her attention on the copper coins that continued to glint beyond her reflection.
YOU ARE READING
Counter Clockwise
General Fiction"I wish...time would just stop." Sleeping has always been Xandra's getaway, but an impending vacation back to her hometown forces her to fully succumb into her mind. She has just been exhausted, working to the bone. And all she really wants is for t...
