the night of september first

chain reaction

i walked home from the street festival alone. the moon shone her rays onto my path. it had been raining off and on so the cobble stones were glistening in the silver light. people had gotten drunk and as they will when losing inhibitions had thrown their bottles in the street, littering it with broken glass. i had left the happy couple behind, they were off to return to the spot where they had first met just two months ago. it was still early into their relationship, all was new, and the shadows on the horizon had not caught up with them. possibly they could continue running from them forever. but my head and heart had grown heavy and i was no longer able to do the petty small talk, despite the few beers i had consumed in order to alleviate my dark mood. i should have known better that a dark mood only gets darker from the drug. ominous as the night had begun, it had simply penetrated my skin. and so i forgot that i needed to avoid a particular street, a particular house, a certain window. it was still lit, and as if i had forgotten, i peeped in and i saw them in a close embrace. the woman turned to face me and gave me the provoking glance that said she had taken my place, taken over my home, taken over his heart. it felt like a game between me and her. then the lights went dark. the drama had been played out, a short scene to make my scars bleed anew. i understood why the wolves howled at the moon - to release the evergrowing emptiness of the heart. suddenly i felt a presence behind me, someone had been following me, watching me. out of the shadow i heard his broken voice, saying, "it appears you are still not over him" then his footsteps disappeared into the night.