The White Bicycle

It’s like a silent movie. The rain drizzles, visible only in the haloes of the street lamps. The trolleys come and go, load and unload college kids who haven’t acquired gravitas in their childish strides.

I watch Huntington Ave through the glass wall on the third floor of Marino, my legs mechanically pedaling the human invention called “elliptical.” Music from my headphone drowns out the humming of the machines, although none of the lyrics registers in my mind except the beat synchronizes my breathing. I rest my eyes on the ghostly white bicycle leaning against an electric pole.

All that mess from the day is gone now. His body removed, his blood stain washed away, the police sign taken down, and the curious crow disseminated and gone on to tell their friends and family what an appalling accident they saw today. Only the white bicycle remains, placed there by a heartbroken friend to mark the spot where his soul left us for the other world.

The unnatural whiteness pierces the shadows of the night, from twenty-something yards away, stings me straight in the eyes. Drops of sweat roll down my neck. The tingling sensation gives me a chill, although the machine tells me I am burning 400 calories per hour.

Exercise daily. Eat healthy. Quit smoking. Drink moderately. But one day a car comes at you, you see a flash at the end of the tunnel and none of it matters anymore. The precariously thin film of life vaporizes like a drop of water on the sun-baked sandy beach---instantaneous and traceleess, a whisper of sizzle only when luck decides to visit.

April 16, 2007 Thirty-three people were gunned down at Virginia Tech.
April 11, 2007 A cyclist stuck by a truck on Huntington Ave.
April 3, 2007 One NU student fell downstairs and died.
March 31, 2007 One NU student died from snow tubing accident.

Death. Descending upon us. Hold my hand. I’m not scared, I just want to remember your warmth.

Fear is only in our minds,
Taking over all the time.
Fear is only in our minds but it's taking over all the time.
~Evanescence “Sweet Sacrifice”