Gnash Steps Out

The grey stone figure adorned a creation of the architect Mies Van Der Rohe, famous for the "less is more" quote. Gnash, as he had been named by the balcony dwellers, found that quite ironic. “What kind of minimalist would put me up here?” He thought to himself. He’d learned most of these facts from the men and women who worked in an architectural design office, and used the balcony he was close enough to hear. The pigeons who sat on him now and again never had much to say. One thing he knew that they didn’t was that he was actually created by Van Der Rohe’s father, a stone carver by trade. Perhaps that was the reason the son had added him, a Gothic feature, to the building. It wasn’t anything the “balkies” really discussed, but he did know who was sleeping with whom, what they had for lunch, and their plans. They always had plans, although all of those concepts were foreign to him. Gnash hated them for their mobility he would never experience, and also because he depended on them for his only entertainment, listening. They would pine for week-ends, which they found short, and he found excruciatingly long. Yes, it was safe to say that almost a century of just watching and listening, he found them to be the ugly monstrous creatures.

The morning broke bright and clear, and Gnash could feel the sun warming his stone body. It was wonderful in the morning, but by afternoon it would be painful on his eyes that were forever open. He and his bird pals felt it coming, but the workers on the balcony were clueless. It started small, but the earth began to move and shake the building. Hearing them scream in terror was wonderful, but he could also feel something happening to him. The mortar that held him in place was loosening, and he had the most incredible feeling of movement, even though it was slight. Just as he was wondering if he might break free, the earthquake ended. Gnash never wanted to cry or scream like he did then. So close, it was so close to being the day he would be set free. He looked down at the street where crowds were exiting the buildings. As the envy was building inside him again, it came. Just a little aftershock, but it was enough to send him tumbling off the structure. The last thing his eyes would see made him smile inside. He wasn’t just free, the crowd mulling below were the workers he despised, and they didn’t see him coming.

(WC-437)