Glimmers in the Dark
Something will come, something always comes. No matter what else in life I have learned, this is more true than anything else, something always comes along. I stand waiting in the darkness of a shop window, gazing out at the passers by. They rush onwards never stopping, all have business in the town, things to buy, people to meet, always something to do. I have nothing. Nothing to buy, nobody to meet, no business. I wait for something to come along. It starts to rain, I press my back closer against the dark window of the disused shop and pull the collars of my coat up. Some people put up their umbrellas, but everybody starts to move just that little bit quicker. I remain rooted to the spot, waiting.
There! A glimmer of light at the corner opposite from where I stand. Nobody else notices it, they’re too distracted, rushing by with their busy lives. I see it and rush from my spot against the window. The rain is heavier than I thought and it pounds down on me. I dodge between the blaring cars as I run across the road. The glimmer realises I can see it and dashes away up the street and around a corner. I urge myself on. I must be faster, my lungs are starting to burn but I somehow find the power to increase my speed. The others may not see the light, but they do notice a man running full pelt towards to them. “Out of the way!” I shout and they comply quickly. A corridor opens up for me up the pathway and I race on.
My legs are starting to complain and my lungs are now on fire, but I’ve still got the glimmer in my sights. It rushes up streets, flies over the cars and races round corners, but I’m always there behind it. I imagine its confusion, nobody has ever seen it before, it can’t understand why I’m chasing it, but this confusion helps me and it makes a mistake. It darts round a corner into an alleyway and reaches the deadend. I gulp a large intake of breath and then quickly reach inside my dripping coat and pull out a mirror. It’s trapped and it knows it. The walls are too high, there’s no windows for it to escape through, the only way to freedom is through me and it doesn’t understand me. I’m an unknown quantity and now I’ve got a mirror.
I hear a quiet high pitched tone and know that it understands finally how dangerous I am. I take a step forward and the glimmer makes its second mistake, it charges me. With lightning speed I hold the mirror up and the glimmer collides with it. There’s an explosion of light and the force of the collision knocks me to the ground, but I’ve done it. Something came along. I can’t believe my luck, I’ve caught a glimmer!