The Beauty In Our Earth

New York, New York

"Ding!"

Julia let out a breath as she walked out of the small shop and into the fresh damp evening air. It was going to rain; She couldn't smell it, not with all the smog and numerous smells of the city- but she could still feel it it the air. The kind of dampness that settled on your skin but also brings the whim of fresh starts. A new beginning that only a strong storybook down pour can bring.

Exactly the kind of new beginning that Julia was looking for when she came to New York. Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back and shook out her pony tail; thinking to the first night in the big city. Very different from the small Wisconsin town where she had been raised. The endless noise of the city was intimidating; the never ending dull roar that was only able to be tuned out with practice. But it had now became a comfort, as if everyone here was doing so many incredible things. Incredible things that you are to say you have some tiny minuscule part in.

Checking once more that the door of the antique shop was locked she started to walk down the side walk that had already began to darken with moisture. Who would have thought that knowledge of old farm equipment would have become such a viable asset here in New York. But mostly she owed Lisa- forgiving her a chance when she had no reason to. Trust: that had really proved to be the most viable asset here, she thought to herself.

Julia was pulled out of her thoughts as her foot connected with something hard and the clattering of coins rang out. As she looked down she saw a man, there was a lot of homeless people here in the city, but she did not turn away yet. Glancing towards her feet, she saw the source of the noise and began to pick up the scattered coins.

He began to watch her pick up the coins, one by one, without looking up from the task. He hadn't bothered to start when she had tipped his can. He was going to wait until she passed and just pick them up. He never considered she would stop. Her hands were becoming soiled as she picked up even the coins that had fallen into the gutter; he was about to tell her that she didn't have to get those, he would, but stopped himself. She was doing something else- she was cleaning them. She was taking each coin and wiping it off before putting it back into the jar.

Julia dropped the last coin into the jar and stood. He didn't seem angry with her, he hadn't called out or started to yell when she had recklessly tipped his coins. She should have been paying more attention, she thought to herself, but he had never been here before. Or had he? Had she really neglected to notice another person everyday on her way home?

She realized she had been staring at him this whole time"I'm sorry," she blurted out, thrown by his unusual quiet,

"Did I get them all?" He continued to meet her eyes and only nod. She realized that not only was his disposition different but his features stood out to her as well. She couldn't put her finger on anything out of the ordinary with his attire or surroundings. But it was as though he was, well, happy- content. He still had hope in the Tomorrow. He had his dignity. Maybe this was the reason she could not turn away from him, even after she had finished fixing her blunder. It wasn't enough to fix what she had done; that should not be the only reason someone stopped- to only keep things the same as was it was when you came. Maybe this was why she felt compelled to make him speak. She wanted to do at least that, to make him know someone still cared if his voice was high, or low, or if he had anything to say at all.

"Are there any I missed?"

"No, you got it all" His voice was soft, sounding as though so much emotion had been pushed through his vocal cords in his life that there was not any left for such a small event.

"Oh, okay" she looked around, still not satisfied, her eyes landed on a pub across the way, "Can I get you something to eat?" She watched as his eyes turned skeptical

"You only knocked my coins"

"Oh I know... I well, but, I know" Julia returned his look with nothing but sincerity, she knew he would not want her sympathy. Scoffing, he shifted his gaze to look past her."What is your name?" This almost absent minded question made him jerk back to her. Genuine surprise met her eyes.

"Frank," was his uncertain reply, "What are you doing?" She now sat cross legged across from him. Almost no one had passed since she had stopped.

"Why aren't you on a busier road?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"Used to be."

"You're not now"

"Got in the way too much" She nodded, not quite understanding. Wasn't that the point?

"I am Julia" she offered though he hadn't asked. She wasn't sure if he had heard her or if he was tuning her out again when after a few minutes he replied

"That's a good name. Old, not common anymore."

"My parents named me after my grandmother. She was a city girl who fell in love with a plain Wisconsin Dairy farmer." Julia found herself smiling fondly at the love story that had been passed around the table many times back home.

"Wisconsin?"

"Yes, I moved here a couple of years ago"

"Long way from home"

"So are you I bet" He now began to smile, she was enthralled by how effortless it looked. She would have thought that it would have been such a great feat for him to pull his mouth into a smile, and still then it would have to be sparked by something great and thought out. She didn't expect it to be from a fleeting witty comment that she meant to just be truth. Somehow that made it all the better. The instantaneous smile was soon gone but it had not been lost on Julia.

"Aren't we all, in a way?" Looking past her again he continued "I was a player you know" He motioned to the pub across the street when he saw she did not understand. "Baseball, not women." She nodded, remembering that the that they openly showed baseball 24/7.

"Were you any good?" His eyes were distant as he replied

"Something like that"

"Do you want a place to stay tonight?" Julia thought of her small apartment but quickly pushed it aside, she would make it work, that didn't matter. The question did seem to shake him as much as she thought it would have- still lost in thought he shook his head

"No. I am where I need to be." She again did not understand but she figured there was a lot he understood that she did not yet. It was getting late, she stood and shoved her hands in her pockets emptying the contents without stopping to look at them.

He again found himself watching her as she did this and thought about what had just occurred in the past half hour. He opened his mouth to tell her who she reminded him of but stopped. She had knelt down and was studding his face.

"Thank you." She stood and gave him one last look before walking away.

"You are welcome" It wasn't until she had disappeared from sight that he even thought to ask what she was thanking him for.