Lisa K RisCassi

Any Morning, Any Day

The brisk air was refreshing as the warm sunlight caressed my skin and exposed the

beauty of the city. I stopped just for a moment to appreciate the massive buildings, stretching up

higher each year as if they are trying to reach the clouds. Cars were passing by with the

occasional honk as the hustle and bustle became apparent. I started out for work and fell in with

all the others speed walking down the street. Everyone seemed to be in a rush as they take off

through the crosswalks at the first sign of a yellow light. I felt less burdened by the rush this

morning, maybe because I actually got up to my first alarm or maybe because I was headed in

for a double shift and not excited to expedite my arrival. Either way, I was enjoying taking in

the morning.

Suits and sport coats sped by me. Satchels and sandals conversed in the park. Skirts and

sun hats window shopped. My eyes felt a little heavy as I made my last turn. The smell of fresh

roasted coffee beans filled the air and helped to wake me up. I took deliberate deep breathes and

slowed my pace to enjoy the sweet aroma. Here people were relaxing and reading newspapers

while enjoying hot cups with little pastry snacks. I started walking with more purpose again.

The hotel had cars pulling up to unload bags and well dressed patrons arriving to be greeted by

the well dressed staff. Before entering work, I looked up one more time to appreciate the huge

office buildings and amazing architecture. I become amazed by the amount of work it took to

build up these massive skyscrapers and the amount of work that is happening inside them all the

time.
 In the Midnight Moonlight

Finally, my double shift comes to an end. I speed through the doorway and start my walk

towards home. Streetlights shine down through the darkness to guide my feet. No more people

working in the big buildings are walking around now. The crosswalks aren’t packed and the

electricity in the air from the morning had vanished. I forgot my headphones at home so distant

shouts and sirens became the soundtrack for my journey back.

No more bellhops with complimentary cucumber waters were visible outside the hotel.

Only a grizzly looking security guard smoking a black and mild keeping a watchful eye. No

more dignified guests were arriving. Only a few girls lingered out front offering services one is

not offered on the way to work in the daylight. On the next block some bars are still open and

the neon lights and bright signs help the lighten up the street. Vagrants have descended here

after sundown. An uncomfortable feeling overtakes me as I become surrounded and

outnumbered by all the wide eyes and strange behavior that can only be attributed to hard drug

use. Some still politely ask for my spare change or a cigarette, while some are more aggressive

in their tactics, changing direction to walk next to me or yelling to get my attention.

Beggars with bottles in brown bags filled the streets. The park was filled with buggy

eyes setup on brown cardboard boxes below to soften the ground. Fingers dirty and blackened

blaze cigarette butts one after another. No aroma of coffee beans in the air outside the cafe, just

the faint smell of body odor and trash. As I open the door to my apartment building, I look up at

the skyscrapers once more in amazement as the moonlight creeps through their towering

silhouettes.