Do you see the third building on the left, the one painted cream with a terra cotta roof? Yes, that’s the one! And do you see the two small windows on the top of that building? I’m so intrigued by those windows and wonder what’s behind them. Why? Because some day I’m going to live there and it will be divine!
Quite a view, isn’t it?
It’s a little odd that I daydream about living there; I have no idea where “there” is. I only saw a poster one day as I rode by on a crowded bus on my way to work. Ever since then I’ve been obsessed with getting out of this hectic, dreary city and moving to that lovely building by the brilliant harbor.
I imagine the sun glistening off the ocean every morning and the stars performing a water ballet of harbor lights at night. I can hear the street vendors calling out to tourists passing by to taste this or buy that. Children playing tag; their carefree laughter is so delightful. An old woman sells glimmering conch and abalone shells by the dock and people stop by her little table for small sandy pouches tied with string the color of lapis lazuli nights. The baristas at the outdoor cafes brew fresh coffee from the burlap bags of roasted arabica beans and the baker across the way brings out sweet fruit tarts and golden walnut and pistachio pies dripping with honey.
There’s a small hazy smoke shop nestled between two larger buildings and men stop by for hand-rolled unfiltered cigarettes and skinny cigars. Young beautiful women and men eye each other across the tables in the antique bookstore, perhaps searching for love as well as an antique yellowed copy of sonnets and poems.
The orange fishing boat has just returned and her haul was a good one. The little boat is heavy with various fish and the crew expertly fillet the catch. Mothers with babies strapped to their backs patiently wait for the fish to be wrapped in brown paper and handed to them for tonight’s dinner.
Somewhere in the distance a church bell chimes and dogs bark at the passing boats. The intoxicating salty aroma of the sea rises up to my rooms and I fling open the windows to welcome another glorious new day. I take a deep breath as the warmth of the sun caresses my face.
The booming voice of the overworked bus driver yells out “Fulton Street” and snaps me back to reality; my exquisite daydream is shattered … temporarily. Someday I will find my way to that cream colored building with the terra cotta roof on the glistening harbor.
It’s quite a view, isn’t it?
NAR © 2022
Written in response to CCC # 198 and CCC# 199, hosted by Crispina Kemp
The Elephant's Trunk 