What Lies Above

The girl with short hair and an orange backpack walked along the sidewalk. Her slumped shoulders and downward gaze made her feel invisible. Her eyes followed her dirtied shoes that splashed through a puddle. By now, she had each crack in the sidewalk memorized and each dip in the pavement charted. The smell of early morning fog and a neighbor’s freshly cut lawn were common to her. Although she walked along the same sidewalk day after day, she never knew what she would see if she only raised her head.

She wished to be alone. To not be touched nor spoken to. Not even to be thought about. And in return, she did not touch, nor speak to anyone. Not even a thought about their odd choice of shoes as they measly passed her by.

Why must she always look down? Well, simply there was no reason for her to look up. In her mind, she had seen all there was to see. But in reality, she had only seen one half of the whole. One side of a coin.

She kept her eyes aimed at her brown and white striped shoes. Her shoes were the only thing that seemed to change when she walked along her routine path. She couldn’t help but wonder which pair she’d wear tomorrow and the day after that. And maybe she wouldn’t wear any at all.

Some days she thought about what lies above. She wondered why some days the sky would cry. Some days she wondered if the sky really was filled with white cotton candy like the children who passed her by had said.

Although she had never looked into a mirror, she knew her appearance by her reflection in the numerous puddles created after a sun shower. But, she had never felt the coolness of rain on her face for she always carried her umbrella with her.

Until one day, she forgot her umbrella.

And a drop of rain fell upon her scalp, and out of curiosity, she looked above.

And she smiled.