Alone in Darkness

by Bob Kimberley, 18, Canada

Alone in darkness stands a girl, the pasty white of a cigarette from her lips matching her pale complexion. The permanent frown on her face, along with her black attire reflects her feelings, her thoughts, and her soul. Her T-shirt reads: the sun is gone, but I have a light, a direct quote from her idol, Kurt Cobain.

I sit, accidentally staring at the mysterious person. Irony strikes, and I think to myself: If you have a light, then where is it hiding? She turns now, facing me, and my question answers itself. The light in her eyes shows me what I have been longing to see. The emerald green colour is somewhat camouflaged by her black eyeliner, yet I look directly past the distractions. I recognize something in her eyes that I also sense in myself, the look of fear. Fear of life and of death, fear of the familiar and of the unknown, fear of people and of loneliness.

An expression appears vividly upon her face, like a famous painting in a museum possibly titled Curiosity. She gazes deeply into my eyes, opening the window to my soul. Startled, she snaps her head away suddenly, in a panic. Perhaps she had a similar epiphany to mine? Maybe our striking resemblance had frightened her?

Her half smoked cigarette falls to the cold, wet pavement, only to be covered by the sole to one of her black leather boots. Like a petty thief escaping the store owner, she pivots, and walks steadily away from me; And away from her own truth, she leaves me alone in darkness.