Winter Night in the Old Town
A Short Story
It felt good to be back in the old neighborhood. Sure, it was winter, but anytime is a good time when you get to see friends you haven’t seen in years.
I left Ralph’s house a little after 8 o’clock. After a long day of talking, playing cards, and drinking, it was time to go. The streets were covered in snow, a path on the sidewalk cleared just wide enough to walk. The streetlamps glowing as they hung from the wires above.
Lights were on in the old, rickety houses that I passed by. Not yet late enough for people to go to bed, but late enough for them all to be settled in. There was a nice, peaceful silence as I walked briskly down the road.
I lit a cigarette as I walked. Thinking about old times and watching the smoke billow from my lips, I took my time because time alone was all I had for the rest of the evening.
Not ready to go back to the hotel, I wandered down an old alleyway. It was much darker here, no streetlamp to light the way. Old metal trash cans lined up next to each other on both sides of the alley made for a tight walking situation. That and all of the trash that littered the street. The windy conditions earlier must have leveled out the garbage in the cans and pushed it all onto the road.
