i noticed someone in a gray hoodie come up from the other side of kempsford as i was making my way up with bagel around the same time. he looks at me and then he continues walking on the path of the sidewalk towards the right, where i was headed. i didn’t want things to be creepy so i waited a few seconds before i went that way. when i did, i saw his shadow run behind a house and into the darkness. a white ford flex slows it’s drive and the window goes down as a lady asks me if someone ran behind the house. i thought she owned the house, but once i told her yes, she pulled into the drive way and got out the car. i asked if everything was alright and she responds by telling me ‘that’s my son.’
thinking back, seeing him under the street light, he seemed young. an adolescent kind of young. those years are some of the toughest for people. i continued walking bagel back home as i heard his mother’s voice go hoarse as she screamed. some times you don’t realize how good things are at home until you’re away from home, other times you don’t realize how good things are away from home until you’re away from home.
i hope it works out for the best, for the both of them.
-ratha, 10:58pm, 9.25.17