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Slowly I walked toward the run-down apartment of long times passed. The
garbage outside the door reeked. I heard the cats crying for attention and food. Their
bodies we so skinny I could feel their ribs as I knelt down to pet each one in turn.
The door opened with the familiar creak. I went into the kitchen,
following the smell of burnt popcorn. I noticed the stove still hadn’t been cleaned. I
wandered into the living room to see the old beat-up couch that belonged in a dumpster.
There was an ashtray full of cigarette butts. One cigarette was still resting on the edge
with a pink lipstick smear on it.
I walked into the bedroom and shut the
door. The broken lock still hadn’t been fixed. I opened the closet to find jeans with
holes in them and ragged plaid shirts. The floor was scattered with clothes. The bed was
still unmade.
I went back to the kitchen to find the old tomcat crying at
the window. I opened the fridge to find him something to eat but closed it when I got a
whiff of the wretched smell! I backed out of the kitchen in disgust. I walked out the
door and never looked back at the old, decrepit
apartment.
—–
I was out for my evening walk when I
noticed a young girl staring at the basement apartment. The cats surrounded her as if she
were their long-lost mother. I walked across the street to get a closer look, intrigued
by this young girl’s interest in a run-down apartment.
Through the window,
I watched her go from room to room. What was she looking for? Did she live here before?
She went into one of the rooms and closed the door behind her. Why? Did she see me
watching her? Now she’s coming into the kitchen. Why would she open the fridge in an
apartment that no one’s lived in? If there were any food, not even the tomcat here would
eat it.
She’s coming out. I’d better
go.
—–
Why is that man going over to that abandoned
apartment?….
—–
Everyone’s actions are just
observations to someone else.
