On my way back home is where my thoughts thrive, where they construct themselves most intensely. While everyone is rushing home, we cross paths without really connecting, oblivious to the world around us. We share a thread of contemplation; we pass by one another while a battle unfolds within our minds: processing, deciding, grieving, daydreaming, yearning, planning.
The ride back home is both fast and slow. Sometimes, my thoughts drive me home, and I wouldn't have a recollection of the path I had taken. It consumes me, obscures my senses, and blinds me.
The ride back home also feels like an accomplishment or a simple ending. It doesn't have to be as big a deal as an accomplishment, just another day passing by. I asked someone what time it was, and they said, "February." Sometimes, I bump into the month while I look for the time on my lock screen. It's a reminder that another month has passed by me while I was entangled and consumed by my thoughts, just wallowing, drifting, passing. Weeks since I studied, a month since I went to church, six months since I saw her, nine months since my last tear fell, a year since his death, two years since I felt alive. Time passes, events unfold, people change while my thoughts consume me.
A homeless man who collects bottles and smokes cigarettes told me he was freer than I am. I looked around to see if he was talking to someone, only to realize it was just me and him on that street. My mind tries to deceive me, questioning the authenticity of both the words and the presence of a homeless man, even though I see him every day.
The ride back home on a February night. I don't know if I like the cold weather. The air is fresher in the morning but I feel a little sadder, a hint of loneliness started growing within me.maybe it's more than just a hint. I find myself craving to be held and cared for just to get the hypothetical comfort of losing all awareness and sensation by just the presence of the warmth of another body. Though my stomach folds not once but twice, my shoulders are broad too. My rings don't fit anymore, but my nails are longer even painted in green. I wear my hair down now. Am I desirable enough ? For you to hold me and care for me?
In that same February, I chose not to take the ride back home. Instead, I awoke at three in the morning, finding myself embraced by your arms. With purpose or accident , it mattered not. I welcomed the warmth and comfort that came with your presence and the feeling of your arms around me. The scent of you, the night, the darkness, and the sound of the rain filled the air & caused a lamp in my throat. It lasted more than seconds but not more than minutes. I regretted not holding you back. Because I once again was consumed by my thoughts.