The Girl Who Walks

 
I've noticed a pattern emerging in my neighborhood. Not so long ago, my street was pretty quiet and peaceful before the sun came up. I could sit and gaze out my study window and enjoy the street lights glowing through the mist of the high humidity that is prominent in my area during this time of year.

And just like that, things began to change. Don't get me wrong, it's still decently peaceful. Those early morning hours that I love, because it's just me that's up and around, they're still as they were. It's just that a few months ago, as I gazed out my window, with lights turned down low, a form appeared that once wasn't there. It startled me at first. But then my imagination kicked in. It wasn't as if I was out there crouching beside the house, making myself vulnerable to possible danger. I was safe. Safely tucked inside a darkened room where no one could see in. If she had been sent to eliminate me, she'd have to come into the yard. I'd have plenty of time to grab my archaic Colt 45, recently cleaned and ready. She had gotten my full attention. But she walked on...

For the last 2 months I have sat with my cup of coffee, watching the ever changing patterns the current temperature makes as it plays with our street lights beaming out their comforting oras. I have created (in my head only) stories of this mysterious woman. Some are eerily frightening. Others are of the beautiful streets of France on any given rainy day, as passersby carry their red umbrellas over their heads and move into any one of the shopping buildings wanting to spend their money. But, today, the woman who has invaded my street (and quite literally, my thoughts), and has given me more fodder and enhanced my story telling abilities, didn't show. When she had appeared that first day, I thought, "Oh. It's just someone trying to keep mobile in their old age. This isn't going to last long." But, day after day, there she was. I could almost set my clock by her appearance under the stong, steely street lamps. 

However, today I waited for her and she didn't show. At least not on schedule. Did she come by earlier and I just missed her? She's never been 15 minutes late!!! I was beginning to worry as my thoughts took flight. What if something had happened to her as she walked without light? Has she been attacked? Is she in the hospital fighting for her life? Does she need help? I couldn't take the pounding in my head and the increased heart rate as I considered going out just to look for her. I turned my lights up for the first time in a very long time. I needed answers, and they weren't coming while sitting in the dark.

And then it happened! I had no sooner turned the lights on, and there she was, peering in! I jumped. Where had she come from? How long had she been there? I had just looked up and down the street as far as I could see, and noone was visible. The sun hadn't risen just yet, but it was about to. The sky was increasingly becoming light. Just a tinge of light on the horizon, but still dark enough that someone could hide in the shadows. There she was, looking inside my house, now that I had made that possible. I froze. Eyes wide open, coffee shaking out of my cup as my hand trembled. She walked on...

And here you'll find me, still...in Mary's World.