Sidewalks in the Spring

By Lela Smith – Originally published in Queensbury High School’s Seeing Blue, 2022

“There’s something beautiful about this place in the spring.”

She tilts her head up to the clouds and says a little thanks to the sun and the sky for these endless afternoons.  This, the time in between two extremes, is her favorite time of year.  As she closes her eyes and feels the gentle breeze move through her hair, she knows with absolute certainty that in this very moment, everything is in the balance of organized chaos.  It is a time for change and a time for order; it is a time for forgiveness of an endless memory; it is a time before time itself. 

“Why this place? Why not just like… spring? In general?”

Jonah balances, one foot after the other, on the sidewalk edge to her left.  She lets out a light giggle at the skepticism in his voice.  Maybe yesterday it would have bothered her, but today is spring, and today is new, so she lets the wind carry it up and away as they continue to make their way home.

She sticks her hands in the pockets of her worn denim jacket as she feels the chill in the air to her bones, a pleasant little shock to the system, a hand-delivered reminder from mother nature herself that she is alive enough to feel.

She looks forwards once again and surveys the road ahead of them, the trees beside them, the houses next to them, and then she looks once again to Jonah, his eyes trained on the curb as he continues forward.

“Because this place is home.”

There’s always something beautiful about home.