I walk along the wet sidewalk. It’s cold, damp, dreary; this would have been a movie marathon day, once. My daughter and I would watch movie after movie on days like this, until we were sick of them - her favourite was Horton Hears a Who, I think - and we’d make butt imprints on our cozy couch while eating warm popcorn. There’s a place that sells popcorn, up the street and to the left, called Al’s with its plastic sign, a mouth watering hamburger. It doesn’t sell burgers anymore. How can you sell a burger when there are no cows to make burgers with? All the cows were slaughtered several years ago, in an effort to minimize climate change. The news says the sea’s level is continuing to rise, could we lose more islands, like Grand Manan? I’ve heard that rumour, passed on to me in soundless words.
It’s hard to walk in this dress, it’s so wet. I’m weighed down. Ofglen is across the street; I cross over slowly diagonally - she waits for me, drenched as well. We've grown accustomed to each other, there’s no need to communicate with words. Telepathy. We don’t bother much with formalities anymore; we smile and carry on, in sync, along the grey sidewalk. We don’t usually go this way but it’s okay to vary the route; there’s nothing against it, if we stay within the boundaries. A mouse in a cage is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays within the cage.
It’s pouring; we continue along. We’ve already been to the stores we needed to go to. There was a pet store somewhere on this block. I can’t remember the name. You could pet the puppies, and hold hold them, depending on who was working. They had the cutest breed, it was something ‘oodle. Goldendoodle? I can’t remember.
Luke and I went there one of the first times we were together. We played with all the dogs: the big ones, black ones, long haired ones, and we stayed in there for over an hour. There was a canary in a cage in the store as well, it sung constantly; I know why it sung.
Schnoodle, that was the name.
We walk past the wall, there’s six bodies on it today. They won’t be up there for very long, they never stay up long during Summer because of the flies and the smell.
Written by Jess Cook
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