It was a sunny noon when I was walking back to my apartment
from the shopping mall across the street. I was held back by the side of the
zebra crossing by vehicles that wouldn’t stop. It was a mild traffic, but cars
and motorbikes rushed just because it was a one-way street. Having been through
a sore mood since the day before due to a battle of principles in my head, I
was too tired to be angry at the inconsiderate drivers who didn’t seem to know
or care what a zebra crossing was for. So I just stood, waiting helplessly
until there was long enough gap in the traffic to let me walk and cross the
street normally.
The chance finally came. The next cars were at least 20
meters away from me, and I crossed the street. It felt like a small victory for
traffic scaredy like me. Suddenly, when I reached the sidewalk on the other
side, I felt the breeze. The wind, the blue sky, the mild traffic, walking on a
sidewalk, all took me back to the feeling I probably haven’t had since 23 years
ago. I was in a Summer holiday. School had been out for a few weeks, I had
nothing much to do other than biking around the apartment complex or taking a
walk to the nearest Taco Bell to get my favorite burrito. It was a fine Summer
day in East Lansing, Michigan. A small town where I spent 2 years and 9 months
living with Mom who was studying hard, while having to put up with teenage me,
to get her PhD.
