Showing posts with label short stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short stories. Show all posts

Monday, May 30, 2016

Up North: Chapter One

Its always raining in Portland
Chapter One

Juan thought he heard her say, "I love you!" as he walked away, but he wasn't sure.  He could hear his screaming heart beating and feel his blood pumping throughout his body. Was it her voice, his blood, or the rain?


It was windy


It was cold.  


It was raining hard


He was under grey skies.   They both shuffled away in opposite directions carrying withdrawn dreams turned to cash.  

The air between them cold and wet.


He walked from the ATM to the bus stop.  Tears filled his eyes and he kept wiping them with the sleeve of his black Independent trucks hoodie.


"Fuck, it’s always freezing here!"  Juan thought to himself as he walked down the street.  He had two thermals on under his shirt and hoody, denim pants and a black Dogtown beanie on. 

Oregon/Washington winters were still something hard for him. Even after 10 years.  His fingers reached to make sure he still had his wallet in his pocket.  He couldn’t believe this was all he had left.  HIs backpack, his skateboard and his wallet with few hundred dollars...


The bus finally came and he was soaking wet.  It was cool though, he thought to himself.  The bus was warm and he had over an hour to ride and then transfer to his next ride.  It was a long ride on the bus from Vancouver, WA to Hillsboro, OR--his new residence.  


Juan looked through rain splattered windows--his eyes searched for the sun.


Then he reached into his backpack and pulled out his moist book...


Things were almost completely dry when he got off the bus at his stop in Hillsboro.  It was still raining.  Now he only had to walk 2 miles uphill to his new place.

“I need some sun!”  Juan he repeated to himself as he began his walk.  

He thought about his hometown of San Jose, CA--its warmth and sunshine as he trudged through the rain into his new life.