It’s growing- catching the sun’s rays as it lays there undisturbed by none but Mother Nature’s great sigh. As she exhales it skips a few feet further along the hot, hard artificial terrain, and begins to shrink into the distance. It stops. She’s holding her breath again, allowing me to catch up. The sun is hot. Reflecting off the pavement, so stiff beneath my feet, it blinds me. Squinting through the tears building up around my eyes, I can see the object still growing up ahead. It’s shining as if Mother Nature has beamed the spotlight in the sky directly upon it. It’s calling to me. Or rather, she is. She’s asking for its riddance from the earth but as of this moment, I wish she’d make the ball of fire in the sky take a break behind a cloud. A glance at the clear blue backdrop above me tells me that this is not an option. The sun beams down directly overhead. As I breathe in the air feels warm and dry within my lungs. My mouth is parched and my skin is burnt red. My clothes are sticking to my back and perspiration slides down my neck and face. All I can think of is my destination- an air conditioned building with fountains of cold running water built right into its walls.
I quicken my step, eager to get to that place despite that the heat of my blood warming inside me as I move faster is enough to make me want to collapse. The object is still glinting on the inside edge of the sidewalk, still as can be. As I move past it, my shoe kicks it aside. It rolls into the tall green grass growing beside the pavement and into the shade of someone’s tree.
Mother Nature finally exhales again, sending winds that whip my hair around my face and bite at my eyes. When she calms, the sun’s rays feel ever hotter, as if she’s trying to burn me now as I walk away. The candy wrapper shrinks further into the shadows behind me.
