He sat on a bench looking out into the distance. Out into nothing in particular, just out. He remembered the first thought when he woke up, "unicorns took my breath." He laughed at the thought, but was saddened that it wasn't true. humf, humf, humf. He looked down at a puppy sniffing about him, looking for something he didn't have. Aiden bent down to pet the little lab. He looked about for an owner. Someone to claim the little thing. No one came about. He picked the little guy up and sat him next to him on the bench, stroking his back, waiting for something. He had always been waiting for something. The puppy lied down, giving into the rub. Aiden made a new friend. Aiden had a friend.
He sat there for a while pondering. Simply pondering life and serendipity and the universe. "Does the universe listen? Does it know? Can it know? How could it know? Should it know? Shouldn't it know? What is there to know?" He needed a friend more than ever. He needed some form of companionship. Some form of unconditional love and here was little Blakely, a chocolate lab mix (though with no overtly distinguishable features to determine of what other kind) who instantly loved him. A puppy who claimed him. Its a strange thought. That an animal can claim you. For some reason people seem to think that they're the ones deciding, that they're the ones who get to determine what pet they get...but couldn't it be the other way around? That the animal chooses you and you affirm it? I like that notion better. It gives them some control.
The sun was beginning to set. It caught Aiden by surprise. As if he was witnessing it rise rather than fall. As if it was new light. How long had he been there pondering? Blakely was shivering. His stomach grumbling. Aiden picked him up, placed him in his coat, closed the buttons and held onto him. Blakely looked up and liked his face, acknowledging the act of kindness and loving him ever more so for it. It was time to go home. Aiden froze. What home was he bringing this animal back to? What home did he have? Did he even have a home or was it just a dwelling? Just a place to lay his head. Just a place to escape. And if it was a place to lay his head, why did he never sleep? And if it was a place to escape, why was he never there? Aiden didn't have a home. He had a space of his own and material objects. He didn't have a home.
He looked down at Blakely. He was sad.
He kept walking. They both needed food. He made it to the end of the park, passing other people walking their dog's, running, talking, gossiping, social interacting. He kept walking. He was always walking. Olive street. Where was he to go from here? Left. (He lived right). He moved along, making his way further and further from his apartment. Further and further from where he needed to go. He didn't realize. He didn't care. He didn't want to realize. He didn't want to care.
The sun had set. It was dark out. It was bleak out. The streetlights only lit enough. Rimrock. He was on the other side of town. Where had he been? Why was he always in his mind and never in his right mind?
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