Billowing Blue Beauty



Billowing Blue Beauty


I am walking home with large strides for my short legs. The pavement supports my rubber soles rather rigidly. A Snickers' wrapper shivers as I pass by while someone's tissue wads to the ground, keeping a low profile.

I lift my head and pause for a moment at a large store window. All that's left inside is a sturdy wooden desk to the right and a row of hangers in a wood paneled open closet to the left.

The woman who used to own the shop would sit at that desk day after day waiting for someone to enter. Rarely did I see anyone other than herself in the shop: the price of the clothes was prohibitive as much as the expression she wore every day...

Oh! There is a gust of wind that makes me squeeze my jacket around my neck. As I observe my movement in the glass in front of me I glimpse a billowing behind me.

I turn around. There is an elegant man walking on the other side of the street. His gray hair is cleanly cut around his ears, making his moka skin stand out. Maybe he is from Mauritius because there are many people from that island living here, or possibly from Pakistan. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about either culture to know for sure. 

I say this because it was the movement of his glorious, traditional gown that caught my eye. A celeste cloud surrounds him as he walks. It must be made of silk from how it shines and the way the wind lifts it so easily. Not only that, but the sun shifts through the material, making me even more fascinated. I am in the shadow on my side of the street, so I follow him unabashedly with my gaze, sure that he can't see me.

After watching his train for a few minutes, I shake my head to regain my train of thought. Now, where was I? But the image of the celeste material blowing around the man fills my mind again. I stand there for a few more minutes being dazzled my the remembrance of beauty before continuing on my way.


Photo: <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jonwicksphotography-16244489/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5096532">jonwicksphotography</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5096532">Pixabay</a>


Text: Kristen Mastromarchi

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