Nighttime Walk #1

Drizzle, so fine it almost seemed to loft upward, danced in the streetlights, which played tricks on the eyes, making it look like a winter storm was arriving. The crickets chirred their intense heat-and-humidity-fueled cacophony, and the toads were still out, silent sentinels on the sidewalk slabs, that jutted up like Himalayan crags, due to the swelling tree roots below.

A wind kicked up every so often, pushing cool air against my face, only for it to abdicate its place to the humid air mass that hung over my little burg. The cars on Main Street were few and far between, and my walk was leisurely, no real purpose, just watching the town as it slept.

I noted that a children's clothing store had closed, its contents emptied and a "For Rent" sign slapped in the window. Yet, the old, dusty stamp-collecting shop remains, with its window filled with piles of pricing books and faded promotional signs.

The breeze, the dearth of traffic, it all made me want to stay out as long as possible, and take in this quiet, misty night. I had a sense that this experience would be one not easily duplicated and one I would soon miss.