Fragments Gallery
Summer Storms
On a warm summers day Hayley decided to take a walk. So she put on her shoes and a light jacket, for there was a mild wind on this day, locked the front door and walked down the front path. The trees lining the path were still adorned with the fresh leaves of early summer, the now short grass swayed with the light wind. Hayley took a deep breath, smelled the freshly mowed grass, the warm scent of the earth from a nearby field and the smell of impending rain then she began to walk down the row of houses that made up her community.
She had no particular destination in mind; she wasn’t even sure why she wanted to walk. She just knew that she needed time to think. So she just walked, steadily moving down the row of silent houses.
The houses were maintained, the lawns well-kept and green. People around here just cared.
The warm breeze picked up and brought her the scent of flowers from a nearby garden; Hayley breathed in deeply, the smell was so strong she could almost taste the flowers. Her feet tapped lightly on the concrete sidewalk beneath her occasionally kicking up loose gravel accompanied with small clouds of dust. It seemed fitting. The debris that she disturbed seemed similar to her own thoughts. The debris was chaos, much like the small realizations and questions that troubled her. Every time she thought that she had calmed and found tranquility another thought came across which unsettled her once more. It didn’t take too long for her to find peace only to once more find that peace disturbed by another shower of rocks.
She could now see the end of the row of houses up ahead; beyond them she could see the endless fields and pastures of the prairie. And on the far horizon it she could see the dark clouds of a storm. Hayley didn’t slow.
“You see those clouds up ahead?” Spoke a voice to her left, “There’s going to be a right nasty storm later.”
Upon turning she saw that an old friend, Jordan, had joined her.
“I know,” she said simply.
“You going to turn back?”
“Not yet.”
“Alright.”
Jordan fell silent as he matched her pace. They had now left the houses behind and were walking along the country road in silence.
Hayley shot a glance at Jordan; he noticed the glance with a raised eyebrow. He seemed content.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I’m out here?” She asked him.
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“If you wanted to tell me you would.”
“What makes you so sure?”
He looked over at her, “I’m just sure.”
“I…” she trailed off, blushed and looked at the ground, “Thanks.”
Jordan just nodded.
Together they walked forwards into the storm.