A stark figure wearing a ¾ duster leans against a seemingly dimly lit lamppost at the corner of two roads. His fedora gently shields his face from both the dim light and the drizzling rain as a crack of thunder races to catch up with a bolt of flashing lightning. With a strike of the zippo, he lights his cigarillo He snaps the zippo closed placing it back within his buttoned shirt pocket puffing in the rain.

The dimly lit lamppost resembles a flowering tree in which one light at the top gives birth to four staggering gothic branches each with a hanging bulb of light. One would think with this many bulbs, that the lamppost would more than dimly light its surroundings. One would think, but the lamppost is more for a decoration in front of an abandoned building. Often times the decorations are distractions as the rain now has five bulbs to pool and collect in before falling onto shards of broken glass from the windows of the building.

This lamppost is a book cover to the empty pages of the chapter within. That chapter is the street corner, and its pages are blank. Each turn on the street in either direction leads to more of the same for several blocks. Each turn leads towards nothingness, a destination in which so many people run from to return home.

Save for the stark figure, none is around to admire the irony of the lamppost failing to light. If there was more light there might be more travelers? Would the lack of light account for people abandoning the building?

This stark figure appreciates the decorative light. He might be the only one to do so for weeks to come. If the light were a mere two streets to the South then there would be more traffic. That location is where the developments are. That location is where the people feel safe since it has more light and covering.

The rain deters all but the determined from coming out in the first place. People do not feel safe in the rain for the sound of the falling droplets create an eerie aura around them. The thunder is startling. The water is damaging to the preparations people take. The rain dampers as it dampens.

Off in the distance there are cries of laughter or perhaps cries of terror, it is hard to discern, because they are off in the distance. The sound of the falling droplets distorts the true meaning.

Everything is off in the distance from the dimly lit lamppost that stands at the corner of two roads save for the stark figure gently resting against it to smoke one last cigarillo before venturing off. The location is unknown, and in that quest lies the determination to pursue despite the rain.

Sincelery,
Leo