|
|
|
|
Articles: Short Stories | Contemplations of a Small Town Morning
- Mrs. malathi kona
| |
She sits alone at a table in the corner, facing the window. The ground outside is spattered with white from last night's snowfall. The silent town is beginning to rouse from sleep; a car pulls through the ATM at the bank across the street and a man bundled against the cold wanders toward the law office no one ever realizes is there. She sighs and looks down upon the book that lay open on the table in the front of her, wrapping her cold fingers tighter around the mug in her hand.
She has been nursing the same cup of coffee for nearly an hour. A half eaten bagel with a bit of butter and cream cheese sits in front of her, beside her book. She lifts the off-white mug with a small chip above the handle and takes a slow sip of the liquid inside. It is lukewarm, but the bittersweet taste and velvet texture bring a small smile to her lips none-the-less.
This morning is unusual.
She savors the quiet peace of the restaurant and its surrounding areas. The regular patrons chat quietly with the owner, the waitress, each other. She observes them through their reflections in the glass barrier to the outside world. One man tells of his son - an adventurous little boy who has a tendency to fall out of trees and twist ankles. The man is relatively young, perhaps late twenties to early thirties. He is wearing a rugged baseball cap and a black car hart jacket. He then starts to tell of the time his son nearly cracked his head open climbing out of the back of a pickup truck.
'It was the scariest moment of my life.'
She smiles as she can hear traces of fear left over from trauma in his voice. She can tell just by that one simple statement that he loves his son dearly. The waitress wanders over, a middle-aged woman with dark hair and even darker eyes. The watch on her wrist glistens in the rising sun as she asks if a coffee refill is needed. The girl looks into her mug, seeing it half empty (or half full depending on how you view it) and then at her watch. It is five minutes after seven. She should be leaving soon. She says no thank you and begins to place her things back into her bag. The other patrons have begun to pack up their things and leave as well, heading off to their simple jobs.
| Be first to comment on this Article!
| |
|
|
|
 |
| Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
| Advertisements |
|
