~~
Her laughter broke the silence.
It came
from a block away, maybe two. The neighbourhood was almost empty this early in
the morning. At five am, the university students and young couples and single
bachelors that inhabited the apartment buildings were normally still sleeping.
Occasionally, he would see a jogger or two, or someone stumbling in from the
graveyard shift at work. But that was rare.
That’s
what made her laughter so interesting. It was unusual. Different.
It was
nice.
He
picked up his pace a little, hoping maybe he would catch a glimpse of her on
the main street. Here, it was a little busier—but only just barely. A couple
cars with early-morning commuters, on their way to work, or to the airport for
whatever tropical destination awaited them. There was an older man across the
street, walking a chubby beagle down the sidewalk.
But no
girl.
He was
about to shrug it off, continue on to his destination, but curiosity got the
better of him. He walked a bit in the opposite direction, peering down the next
street over. Finding it was just as sleepy as his own, he tried the next one.
And the next. And the next.
No
girl.
This
was silly. He felt silly. He jogged
back down the way he came, slowing back down to a walk as he headed past his
street.
He
heard it again—a laugh, bubbly and loud and echoing down the silent, sleepy
buildings. As he passed the next block, he saw her—bedridden hair, dirty pajamas, face illuminated
by the glow of her cell phone, smile stretching from ear to ear at a joke he
couldn’t—and would probably never—see.
Beautiful.
~~
Until later,
- Justyne
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