Day One

Day One

Andrea stood on the corner waiting for the cross light. She was in a foul mood. In the olden days you didn’t have to wait for a cross light to tell the traffic to stop, people would stop because it was the right thing to do, especially when it was raining, like now.

She was half tempted to just walk out and see what happened, but fortunately not stupid enough to do it. People these days were not the kind gentle people she grew up with, spent her life with. She often wondered what happened to the world when she wasn’t paying attention.

Sighing, she realized she hadn’t been paying attention for a long time. Living in her new elderly apartment, she hadn’t even bothered to meet her neighbors. She had given in to being old and lonely. The thought almost made her cry.

Suddenly a voice came up from her side. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

Looking down, there was a boy, maybe ten or twelve? “Excuse me? she said.

“You’ve been standing here a while. Can I help you cross? This is a very busy street because it leads right to that new Mall.”

“Oh, so that’s why.”

“My name’s Jimmy. I live on the other side too. We could cross together,” he pushed the cross button.

When the traffic stopped, he automatically took her hand and crossed with her. Once on the other side he let go, “see you next time!” and he scurried away.

As Andrea watched him run down the sidewalk, suddenly she felt better. Suddenly she actually felt hopeful, hopeful for the world. She decided to go home and meet her next door neighbor.

She decided right then and there, she was going to make today “Day One” of her new life.