The Moon

[lidless_i]

Yeah... it's a crappy story about my boring life. Also, in case you are wondering, I am perfectly aware of just how much the ending sucks... I just couldn't think of a decent way to bring closure to something that hasn't technically ended yet...




A loud, metallic thud resounded through the hall as I slammed down the push bar on mostly glass door. I didn’t mean to push it that hard, just a thing that happened sometimes. There was no change of pace or tone in the talking of the women walking behind me, one of which was my boss, so I assumed that it hadn’t been loud enough for anyone to really take notice.

Stepping out into the warm, windy, summer night, I wished I had brought my music player with me. As of late, music felt like my only release; the
only thing that let me escape from the humdrum world around me. I never liked to walk anywhere, even somewhere as close as the dorms, without having something or other blasting away over my headphones. I was vaguely and distantly afraid of the fact that listening to music that loudly and that frequently would probably have an impact on my hearing sooner or later. Most of the time, I found it easy not to care.

Through the worn soles of my shoes, I could distinctly feel the cobblestone that make up most of the paved pathways around the campus. I looked down at them, glowing a sick yellow in the lamplight and didn’t think anything particular. Just a vague, half-formed thought about how I detested the way those night-time lamps made everything look.

“You got much more homework to get done?” My boss asked as we began to take our separate paths, hers leading to the parking lot.

“Not much, just stuff from other classes that I can do at home.” I replied. I had to do my math homework with the book there in the- when I didn’t have books to reshelf or people to sign on to the computers- because I couldn’t afford one of my own.

“Alright, then. I’ll see you-“She paused “Do you work tomorrow?”

“No,”

“I’ll see you Monday, then.” She said and turned away

“Yeah, see ya.” I replied and allowed a small, internal smile as I thought of when that same verbal exchange had happened between me and the supervisor of the shift I had been on until just a week before.

“Remember, the campus is closed on Monday, so unless you work tomorrow, I’ll see you Tuesday,” She had said as I walked towards the door at closing time and she preformed the last of her duties.

“Yeah,” I had intended it to sound like an agreement, but it came out sounding cynical and sarcastic, as if the idea of seeing her next Tuesday had filled me with a private disgust, or that I didn’t believe I actually would. I had looked back when I heard the tone of my own voice, hoping she hadn’t noticed it. It was obvious from the look on her face that she had, and found it incredibly rude. Deeming the situation unsalvageable, I had turned back towards the door and continued on my way.

Oddly enough, she was stricken ill the following week. So I really didn’t see her that Tuesday. Nor, due to a schedule change, have I seen her since; just a private sort of amusement.

So, getting back to the present, I walked along the cobblestone paths towards the dorms, hating the wash of lamplight for its color, and loving it for just how different it made everything look. There were a few other people out walking around as well, but I was mostly alone, something I am usually grateful for, whenever I have music to listen to, anyway.

I reached the end of the path and stepped off onto the dusty, gravel filled lot that separate the dorms from the rest of the campus, and my eyes wandered up to the nighttime sky. I remarked to myself that I missed seeing the stars, and wondered how long it had been since I had. I guessed that the last time had been on the night I left my home town. The light pollution didn’t seem so bad there.

In the midst of these thoughts, my vision locked on the only visible celestial object that night, the moon, a perfectly shaped, extremely thin sliver that night. Which was interesting enough, I guess, but what had captured my attention about it was that the darkened remainder was also visible, darker than the sky around it. I wondered for a moment how that was possible, and then decided that I didn’t really care.

It surprised me how much I had come to unconsciously think of the moon as a flat image up there in the sky when I saw it like that, it’s third dimension apparent. I imagined that I could almost feel the enormous distance between myself and it and shook my head a little, allowing a slight laugh to join the smile. I could be such an idiot sometimes.

I continued to stare at it, though, listening to sharp taps of rocks bouncing off of each other as my steps kicked them about. It was a noise I didn’t hear often anymore, and I wished for the third time that night that I had brought my music with me.


It occurred to me to wonder whether anyone else was seeing it as I saw it then, as it disappeared behind the dormitory roof. I concluded that the likelihood was slim, as I stepped up onto the sidewalk. I looked back down and the smile began to fade. It was a fascinating end to an interesting day.  

[KirbyVictorious]

IF you deleted the last paragraph it would sound much better, in my opinion, and maybe added that if anyone saw it as I saw it now sentence somewhere further up. I like the way the second-last paragraph ended.

I liked it, though it made me sad. When your life is boring and monotonous, even something that small becomes important....  

[lidless_i]

Yeah, I see what you mean about the ending... well here's it again with that and one or two other minor edits... They are all towards the end, just letting you know so you don't have to slog through the whole thing again... yeah.


A loud, metallic thud resounded through the hall as I slammed down the push bar on mostly glass door. I didn’t mean to push it that hard, just a thing that happened sometimes. There was no change of pace or tone in the talking of the women walking behind me, one of which was my boss, so I assumed that it hadn’t been loud enough for anyone to really take notice.

Stepping out into the warm, windy, summer night, I wished I had brought my music player with me. As of late, music felt like my only release; the only thing that let me escape from the humdrum world around me. I never liked to walk anywhere, even somewhere as close as the dorms, without having something or other blasting away over my headphones. I was vaguely and distantly afraid of the fact that listening to music that loudly and that frequently would probably have an impact on my hearing sooner or later. Most of the time, I found it easy not to care.

Through the worn soles of my shoes, I could distinctly feel the cobblestone that make up most of the paved pathways around the campus. I looked down at them, glowing a sick yellow in the lamplight and didn’t think anything particular. Just a vague, half-formed thought about how I detested the way those night-time lamps made everything look.

“You got much more homework to get done?” My boss asked as we began to take our separate paths, hers leading to the parking lot.

“Not much, just stuff from other classes that I can do at home.” I replied. I had to do my math homework with the book there in the- when I didn’t have books to reshelf or people to sign on to the computers- because I couldn’t afford one of my own.

“Alright, then. I’ll see you-“She paused “Do you work tomorrow?”

“No,”

“I’ll see you Monday, then.” She said and turned away

“Yeah, Cya.” I replied and allowed a small, internal smile as I thought of when that same verbal exchange had happened between me and the supervisor of the shift I had been on until just a week before.

“Remember, the campus is closed on Monday, so unless you work tomorrow, I’ll see you Tuesday,” She had said as I walked towards the door at closing time and she preformed the last of her duties.

“Yeah,” I had intended it to sound like an agreement, but it came out sounding cynical and sarcastic, as if the idea of seeing her next Tuesday had filled me with a private disgust, or that I didn’t believe I actually would. I had looked back when I heard the tone of my own voice, hoping she hadn’t noticed it. It was obvious from the look on her face that she had, and found it incredibly rude. Deeming the situation unsalvageable, I had turned back towards the door and continued on my way.

Oddly enough, she was stricken ill the following week. So I really didn’t see her that Tuesday. Nor, due to a schedule change, have I seen her since; just a private sort of amusement.

So, getting back to the present, I walked along the cobblestone paths towards the dorms, hating the wash of lamplight for its color, and loving it for just how different it made everything look. There were a few other people out walking around as well, but I was mostly alone, something I am usually grateful for, whenever I have music to listen to, anyway.

I reached the end of the path and stepped off onto the dusty, gravel filled lot that separate the dorms from the rest of the campus, and my eyes wandered up to the nighttime sky. I remarked to myself that I missed seeing the stars, and wondered how long it had been since I had. I guessed that the last time had been on the night I left my home town. The light pollution didn’t seem so bad there.

In the midst of these thoughts, my vision locked on the only visible celestial object, the moon, a perfectly shaped, extremely thin sliver that night. Which was interesting enough, I guess, but what had captured my attention about it was that the darkened remainder was also visible, darker than the sky around it. I wondered for a moment how that was possible, and then decided that I didn’t really care. I wondered, for a moment, if anyone else was seeing it as I saw it then. I concluded that the likelihood was slim and took some joy in that. However, I couldn’t help but wish there was at least someone else there, even just a stranger passing by the same way. It was almost as if seeing it by myself wasn’t good enough, that there needed to be another witness to somehow validate the sight.

It surprised me how much I had come to unconsciously think of the moon as a flat image up there in the sky when I saw it like that, it’s third dimension apparent. I imagined that I could almost feel the enormous distance between myself and it and shook my head a little, allowing a slight laugh to join the smile. I could be such an idiot sometimes.

I continued to stare at it, though, listening to sharp taps of rocks bouncing off of each other as my steps kicked them about. It was a noise I didn’t hear often anymore, and I wished for the third time that night that I had brought my music with me.  

[KirbyVictorious]

Muchos de better biggrin  

[Spastic waffles]

Yeah, I'm with Kirby and her bad spanish. ^_^ The second edit is a lot better. Especially the ending.  

[KirbyVictorious]

Hooray ><