THE VILLAGE SLEEPS She speaks to me, though I have not seen her face, nor heard her voice. I had come close tonight. Or at least the air of possibility seemed more prominent. With each change in venue—a celebration on the Upper East Side, a rooftop in Murray Hill, karaoke in Alphabet City, and here, the after-after party within an alley-facing apartment on Bleecker St.—the hope seemed to rise, that something extraordinary were near to happening. Extraordinary requires the unexpected, and tonight, if nothing else, had been unexpected. Through the small square window, the glow of morning can no longer be doubted. The never ending night has ended. As the shades draw down on my too-worthy companions, I escape to the empty streets. The change is distinguishable. It is as if the neighborhood were an instrument finely tuned to the daylight. The sun rises and The Village sleeps. Not everyone. On Bedford St., I pass a model in a silver sequin dress. Her frozen pose suggests she had been wrong to trust a careless photographer. So she stands, waiting for a flash that will never come. A block away, two young Spanish men descend into a restaurant’s cellar, exchanging empty kegs for full ones. It is cold, I realize, a late summer chill. I pass a twenty-four hour diner and find shelter inside, feeling my stomach wake. “Good morning, sweethawt,” greets my waitress, Carla. She is fiftyish, her accent is buttery thick and sweet in an almost too loving sort of way. I am her first customer. She is going to take good care of me, she says, filling my coffee “nice and high.” As Carla turns away, I begin to think of the girl again. I can hear her, as if she sits across me at this very table. “Are you tired?” She asks. “Yes,” I say. “It’s not easy, is it?” She continues. “No, it is not.” “But it will be worth it, won’t it, when you find me?” “Yes. Yes it will be.” The Village sleeps. Somewhere, she does, too. It is cold again outside and I know this is only part of the story, a prelude. The best parts to come soon.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 10:43:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015