Inside the World of a Real City

It was still wet outside. The smell of dirt and beer rose from the humid air. The sidewalk glistened of the street lights.. Nobody was outside for now… This neighborhood looks a lot sketchier at night than I thought. Illumination from the moonlight on the puddles lit up the streets. Above the buildings, the skyline is shrouded with clouds and blinking lights from the skyscrapers in the distance. The stillness from the dead night made any slight movement look threatening. I wanted to go back inside the bar but it was closed. Who closes at three? I guess they wanted to close early since I was the only one there for a while. A pink glow emitted from the neon “open” sign on the window, making the sidewalk in front of me look like a fashion runway.

I knew I was too drunk to drive my car. It was the shitty ’98 Sentra that used to be white. Now it’s yellowed out, covered in dirt and dust and abused from intoxicated driving. There were too many cars parked on the street, I could barely see my car parked a little ways down the block but you can see how it sticks out among the other cars because of my awful parking job. Oh well, I guess I’m walking home. The Q train is only 3 blocks away my train card still had a few swipes left.

I lit a cigarette.

“Hey buddy, can you spare one?” A voice ached. It was a man sitting next to a rusty silver garbage can. He was snuggled in the corner of the darkness right next to the bar. No wonder, I didn’t notice him. “Yea.” I pulled out another cig, walked towards and gave it to him. “Thanks.” He said, but I didn’t acknowledge him. I was already walking away towards the subway station. The man smelled like he was fermenting faster than the garbage inside the cans. I walked past a spanish deli, an electronic store and a couple of apartments. My head was fixed at my reflection from the windows, then my reflection turned into a view of brick walls, then my reflection again and so on. I was stuck in a trance. Water was still dripping from the awnings, gutters and pipes on the sides of each building. Then a cold droplet fell inside the collar of my jacket, ruining my illusion of warmth for a split second. I fucking hate that. Nothing like something small and irritating to make me snap. Fuck it. I got in my car and started the engine.