Trench coat
The setting sun was giving a bloody picture to the world around me. I peeked at the fast food restaurant. It was never crowded and that was the reason I came here. People are not thrilled when they see me. They flinch and curse me for ruining their day with my bad luck. They fear breathing the same air will make them ill too. Children cry looking at me; I don’t blame them, I used to cry too. But now, years have passed since I saw my reflection.
The world around me was losing color, as the October breeze was passing through the shirt holes. The restaurant was well-lit. I saw a car stop in front of the restaurant, and a couple walking in. My stomach churned and the delicious smell coming through the air vent was adding fuel to the already starving stomach. I looked around and found no one.
I silently walked to the dumpster and opened the lid. As I was going through the trash, I heard the bell ring and stood still. The oncoming footstep halted.
“Hey! What are you doing?” asked a puzzled voice. I wanted to run, but my legs were not moving. It was more than a year since I conversed with a human, and all the bad memories came back. I slowly turned around, head down, I hoped my hair would cover my face. I felt him flinch and my heart felt a pang. I thought I would not care, but I was wrong. He took a step back. I stood still, my eyes welling up.
“Here, take this!”, he stuttered, and stumbled in. I heard the bell ring and the door close. I closed my eyes and tears rolled down my cheeks, I opened my eyes and saw a brown bag on the floor. I took it and slowly walked into the shadow. The food was warm and it smelled delicious. I gobbled down the food. It was days since I ate, and to get a full meal was a blessing.
As I sat down in the darkness, pondering about everything and nothing, I fell asleep. It was all dark when I woke up. It was cold and light rain was pouring. It took me some time to gather where I was. I stood up and started running towards the light when I stumbled and fell. A cozy cloth felt warm to my touch and I tried to pry it from the branches it was tangled. After some arduous pulling, it came free. I covered myself with the cloth to stay dry. I felt the sleeve holes and poking my hands into it, I felt grateful for the person who left it there.
At that moment, a big lightning struck and I saw myself wearing a trench coat on the reflection of a car. My heart sped up, I turned around in time to see the body of a person lying all bloodied on the ground lit up in the lightning.
