i decided to walk up 7th street to work today. it seems like i always ride up 6th these days. maybe the change today happened because i was walking and 6th is less hilly and more fun to ride a bike on, or maybe, feeling better about other things, my subconscious didn’t need to direct me to walk one block closer, hoping for a chance meeting at an intersection.
i walked up the hill towards the elementary school. “walk faster,” i said out loud, my words freezing as they exited my mouth. i did walk faster, shivering, as if the cold were a bully waiting to pummel me from behind some bushes on the way to school.