I started this sometime while I was in MN, but then didn't know how I wanted it to go. Today I finished it. It's simple but hopefully conjures up thoughts of your own home or your childhood or maybe a world you've only dreamed of.
I found this picture on Flickr because I unfortunately don't have anything of the kind.
An Ode to 201
By E. Leake
The headlights showed the way around the sharp curves and into the dark night. The sky was clear and
Kasey could see the outline of dark woods on the edges of fields. She tried to pay attention to what she
was doing, but it was all too easy to want to pear up into those millions of glimmering stars. For summer
it was an especially clear night, and Kasey wanted to see the sky, not the road. But, alas, keeping herself
alive would be a good thing if she ever wanted to see those stars again. So, with her eyes on the road, she
pressed the gas a little harder to get home a little faster so that she could more safely view the sparkling
heavens.
Finally, up ahead, number 201 reflected off a beaten old mailbox post. Not that she needed a number,
for Kasey had driven this route hundreds of times before, but she still liked to see it. It seemed special for
some reason. Two O one. It meant home.
Kasey slowed the vehicle down and took the sharp right into worn gravel. She never slowed quite enough,
but there was something invigorating about gravel knocking into the underneath of her vehicle and the
wheels skidding onto a new surface. Up the steep hill and farther into the darkness, Kasey drove the little
old Volkswagen Rabbit closer and closer to the destination. The funny, boxy car had been her father’s first
car, and somehow it still worked. She wasn’t sure how.
Finally, the woods cleared and there stood the old white farmhouse resolute against a clear night sky.
Kasey parked next to the 15-passenger van (big families like Kasey’s need those kinds of vehicles) and
hopped out into the night. With the sound of the Rabbit no longer clogging the noises of night, Kasey could
hear, unhindered, all the sounds around her. Mainly cicadas, millions of them it seemed, crackled and
buzzed in the darkness. An owl hooted once in a while in the woods. There were little stirrings in the barn.
A frog croaked down by the creek. But, in all those wonderful summer night noises, Kasey was looking up.
Up far into the sky and passed it into that vast universe. There the stars twinkled and sparkled. The longer
she looked, the more Kasey saw until the sky hardly seemed dark anymore.
The brilliance of the Milky Way shot from heaven to heaven. Kasey couldn’t take her eyes away. She finally
laid down in the grass in complete awe. It seemed she had never seen the sky so shockingly alive at night.
Suddenly, a flash of white streaked across the canvas. The very galaxy seemed to move in front of Kasey’s eyes.
While the world was sleeping the sky was wild with excitement.
As much as Kasey wanted to sleep out on the lawn, she finally left the beauty and quietly entered number 201.
About two times a week, she worked the night shift at the local restaurant, while the other days she worked
mornings or afternoons. Kasey didn’t mind these late nights. Driving home late at night in the stillness gave
her time to think and imagine and wonder and dream. This night was no exception. She creeped up the
squeaking stairs. She knew she would receive some complaints about the noise the following morning from
other family members. No matter how hard she tried, Kasey could not seem to keep the old farmhouse from
creaking under her feet at every step. She loved having her own little room up in the attic, but the distance
and the fact that it was above everyone else, only added to the struggle.
Finally, alone up in the hot attic, after a cold shower below, Kasey was ready for bed. She turned off the old
lamp, and opened the two windows on either side of the room as far as they would budge. The cross-wind
always helped to cool things down up there on those hot summer nights, and the night noises helped her
sleep better. Exhausted and dreamy, Kasey dropped off into a world of flying horses, shooting stars, and
mischievous little boys, while somewhere in the distance a rooster crowed.
Kasey could see the outline of dark woods on the edges of fields. She tried to pay attention to what she
was doing, but it was all too easy to want to pear up into those millions of glimmering stars. For summer
it was an especially clear night, and Kasey wanted to see the sky, not the road. But, alas, keeping herself
alive would be a good thing if she ever wanted to see those stars again. So, with her eyes on the road, she
pressed the gas a little harder to get home a little faster so that she could more safely view the sparkling
heavens.
Finally, up ahead, number 201 reflected off a beaten old mailbox post. Not that she needed a number,
for Kasey had driven this route hundreds of times before, but she still liked to see it. It seemed special for
some reason. Two O one. It meant home.
Kasey slowed the vehicle down and took the sharp right into worn gravel. She never slowed quite enough,
but there was something invigorating about gravel knocking into the underneath of her vehicle and the
wheels skidding onto a new surface. Up the steep hill and farther into the darkness, Kasey drove the little
old Volkswagen Rabbit closer and closer to the destination. The funny, boxy car had been her father’s first
car, and somehow it still worked. She wasn’t sure how.
Finally, the woods cleared and there stood the old white farmhouse resolute against a clear night sky.
Kasey parked next to the 15-passenger van (big families like Kasey’s need those kinds of vehicles) and
hopped out into the night. With the sound of the Rabbit no longer clogging the noises of night, Kasey could
hear, unhindered, all the sounds around her. Mainly cicadas, millions of them it seemed, crackled and
buzzed in the darkness. An owl hooted once in a while in the woods. There were little stirrings in the barn.
A frog croaked down by the creek. But, in all those wonderful summer night noises, Kasey was looking up.
Up far into the sky and passed it into that vast universe. There the stars twinkled and sparkled. The longer
she looked, the more Kasey saw until the sky hardly seemed dark anymore.
The brilliance of the Milky Way shot from heaven to heaven. Kasey couldn’t take her eyes away. She finally
laid down in the grass in complete awe. It seemed she had never seen the sky so shockingly alive at night.
Suddenly, a flash of white streaked across the canvas. The very galaxy seemed to move in front of Kasey’s eyes.
While the world was sleeping the sky was wild with excitement.
As much as Kasey wanted to sleep out on the lawn, she finally left the beauty and quietly entered number 201.
About two times a week, she worked the night shift at the local restaurant, while the other days she worked
mornings or afternoons. Kasey didn’t mind these late nights. Driving home late at night in the stillness gave
her time to think and imagine and wonder and dream. This night was no exception. She creeped up the
squeaking stairs. She knew she would receive some complaints about the noise the following morning from
other family members. No matter how hard she tried, Kasey could not seem to keep the old farmhouse from
creaking under her feet at every step. She loved having her own little room up in the attic, but the distance
and the fact that it was above everyone else, only added to the struggle.
Finally, alone up in the hot attic, after a cold shower below, Kasey was ready for bed. She turned off the old
lamp, and opened the two windows on either side of the room as far as they would budge. The cross-wind
always helped to cool things down up there on those hot summer nights, and the night noises helped her
sleep better. Exhausted and dreamy, Kasey dropped off into a world of flying horses, shooting stars, and
mischievous little boys, while somewhere in the distance a rooster crowed.
Keep writing Elisabeth...you might be on to something...
ReplyDeleteThanks! I appreciate that.
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