cup: 1

Pen

She happened on a Monday. It's something I will never forget, because the sky was a shade of blue I had never seen before. Dark, warm, and clear, it painted the city line with soft delicate strokes. The sight was so beautiful, that it saddened me to have it disappear as I entered the tube. My slow pace picked up once I hit the platform, and I rushed to catch my train.

Bustling my way onto the carriage, I hung on to the overhead railing as there was nowhere else to sit. I towered over many of the passengers, and was able to see the array of pigments clumped together in the car. Every face unique from the one next to it, and lives vastly different from the others. All of them had a story, with pages bent, stained, torn, and frayed. My story, well, I added a new chapter that day.

Once the train came to a halt at my stop, I trudged off, back on to the platform with my hands in my pockets. I moved with the small crowd of people going up the stairs, and emerged back into the dull sunlight of the early afternoon. The light warmth caressing my cheeks as I walked the along the smooth pavement. People in trench coats, suits, dresses, and jeans, darted by me in every direction, and I couldn't help but notice them all. They were all so flushed to get wherever they were going, not once looking up, that they didn't take time to appreciate each other.

Every person seemed to be moving at the speed of light, heads down with arms close to their stiff bodies. They didn't stop to greet other passer-byers, or even a smile of acknowledgment, just going. None of them took time to witness the beauty of the other people around them, moving with purpose instead of ease. All too impatient, bound by time, to relish in the wonder around them. Too busy, even, to just glance up at the sky.

A woman in green pushed a stroller hurriedly past, dropping a small bear on the ground in the process. In the time I had bent down to pick the bear up and return it, she had already been lost in the sea of people on the sidewalk. Only shaking my head, I continued on my way --bear in hand-- until I came across a girl in an alley. This was the first time I had seen her, the second will come a few hours later.

Her hair seemed just as wild as the look in her wide brown eyes, and her face smudged with dirt. From my vantage point, I stood and watched as she sat the mouth of the alleyway, begging strangers for money. No one stopped. Something within me stirred, and to this day I have no idea what that feeling was. Pity, privileged guilt, or even a simple case of butterflies, I can't be sure, but it was something. And that something made my feet move toward her, the bear in my hand suddenly on fire as I approached her. The action thoughtless as I squatted down in front of her, and her leaning away in either fright or surprise.

Not able to gather words to say, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. Forty dollars and a forgotten teddy bear, is what I gave her on our first meeting. She nodded her thanks, her chap lips slightly parted as she stared at me. I stood to my feet and began on my way once more, looking back once to see the girl clutching the bear to her chest. My gaze returned to the sky, and the blue still splashed the sky in its vibrancy.

Again a ripple of sadness came over me as I left the beauty behind, and entered the steel gym doors. I was greeted my many people as I strode through the building, until reaching the back door to the locker room. Tossing my bag on a bench, I change out of my regular clothes into gym shorts. With a deep breath, I go through another set of doors to the back of the gym. I tighten the white wraps on my hand, and claimed a red bag hanging from the ceiling.

"When are you actually getting in the ring," a gruff chuckle came from across the room.

"I don't fight, we've talked about this," I replied, taking my stance as I lined myself with the bag.

"You've got history, blah, blah, blah."

I chortled to myself as I shook my head, then threw a few punches at the bag. Trying to focus my thoughts and energy, I hit the bag harder and the chain rattled with each blow. It rattled, I punched, and the more it rattled the more I punched. My blows became harder, and I didn't control the force going into them. So when the chain snapped, it made me jump back in surprise as the bag hits the wall a foot away.

Great, now I gotta pay for that.

A low whistle broke my angry thoughts, and I turned as the old man approached me. He stopped next to me, and I look back at the bag as my chest heaved. My breathing had been sparse when I was using the bag, so I struggled to bring it back to normal.

"That's the third one this month, Boy," he grumbled, hands deep in his pockets.

"I know, Old Man," I huffed, running a hand through my hair. "More rent money out of my pocket."

"Chain was rusty anyway, was bound to happen, so don't worry about this one."

He began to walk away, and I furrowed my eyebrows at his back. The man said the same thing last time, that I didn't have to pay for it being broken. I couldn't have that kind of debt to pay.

"Let me pay for them," I called after him.

"No," he hollered back.

Blowing air out through my nose, I knelt down to pick up the broken pieces of metal. Once I threw them away, I sat the bag up against the wall and began to hit it again. I felt sweat dripping down the side of my face, but didn't stop to wipe it as I continued to relieve my stress. When I stopped, my arms felt tired and my fists almost numb. Finally wiping the sweat from my forehead, I got a drink of water then grabbed a jump rope.

Old Man came to stand in front of me as I jumped backwards, and I closed my eyes to ignore him. Since I began coming here, which had only been four months ago, he gabe me this speech on why I should box. And each time he gave me the speech, I turned him down, today wasn't any different.

"I'm just saying, Boy, you could be great," he said, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"Not gonna happen, I've been clean this long, not going back now," I replied, eyes still closed as I jumped.

"Just think about it, that's all I ask."

I stopped jumping, and opened my eyes to stare into the brown eyes of his. For the first time, I actually agreed to it. Not because I would do it, but because it would get him off my back for awhile. His bag ridden eyes brightened, and a small smile formed on the corner of his mouth. With a pat on my back, Old Man walked away with a pep in his step and I shook my head. I gave him false hope, I knew I was never fighting again.

Deciding it was time for me to go, I put away the jump rope and picked up the punching bag. I carried it over my shoulder to the equipment room, and tossed it next to its broken friends. As I walked back to the locker room, I gave a small wave to Old Man and went on my way. Changing back into my street clothes, I slung my bag over my shoulder and exited through the gym. I glanced up at the sky, and it had darkened considerably. Still beautiful, but now a more familiar shade of blue than before. With a deep intake of breath, I began my walk back to the train station.

For the second time that day, I saw her. The teddy bear sat beside her as she leant her head back against the brick wall, and a plastic bag gripped tightly in her hand. Her face had been cleared of the dirt, and her shirt was different from the poor excuse of torn cloth before. As I neared her position, a warm droplet hit my skin and I looked at the back of my hand. Rain.

When I glanced back at the girl, her face was toward the sky as slow drops beaded her brown skin. I watched her as she embraced the weather, and then it began to pour harder. The precipitation pelted my body, but I stood still to stare in awe at the unnamed woman. Because when the rain picked up, she did not try to cover herself from it, instead parted her lips and smiled. She was beautiful, and she loved the rain.

"Let me bring you home," I said, the words flying out without even a second thought.

Her eyes opened wide and wild, and she pushed herself back into the wall. A piece of hair sticks to her forehead, and I frowned as I felt the need to fix it.

"Okay," she whispered, and I was surprised at how easily she agreed.

I extended my hand to her, but she ignored it as she pushed herself up from the ground. Wouldn't take my hand, but accepted a place to stay from me without hesitation: interesting. She collected her things, then stood and stared at me before I realised why she was waiting. A soft oh sound left me, and I began walking again with her trailing behind me. The rain continued to pour down, and it took us halfway to the station before something else dawned on me.

"Take my jacket, you're probably freezing," I said, beginning to take of the already soaked material.

"I'm fine, but thank you," she spoke quietly.

So we walked in silence until we reached the tube, then descended underground into the station. My footsteps echoed off the stone walls, while hers seemed to not be present at all. I had to check behind me a few times, just to make sure she was still there: she was. Letting her use my card to pay, I hopped the turn-stop when I knew the guard wasn't paying attention. My pace picked up after that, so I rushed her to the platform and away from the entrance.

We boarded the train, and took seats anywhere as the cart was quite empty. An elderly woman in a head wrap sat next to a man with a briefcase, who upon closer inspection seemed to be mumbling to himself, were our only other riding companions. The woman sat across from me, with the teddy bear on her lap and plastic bag next to her. Her eyes were screwed shut, and her grasp on the stuffed animal was tight as her leg bounced up and down in rapid succession. It worried me as to why she was doing it, but I didn't think to ask until her eyes flew open at the sudden lurch of the train.

"Get me off of this thing," she cried, and I moved to sit next to her.

"It's only a delay," I said, my voice as calm as possible. "Are you okay, what's wrong?"

She shook her head, while leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, and covered her ears. I didn't touch her, but made sure to keep her shielded from the watchful eyes of the other passengers. Once the train stopped again, I ushered her off and collected our bags from the seats. Lucky for us, it had been the stop we needed to get off of, and she seemed to relax after getting off the train. The bear is clutched tight to her abdomen, and her steps were more cautious as she walked. It was like the ground was a mine field, and she had to carefully place her feet as to not set any off.

Again my footsteps were louder and heavier than hers, and I felt like a barbarian compared to her ballerina steps. We reached my apartment building, and I slowly unlocked the door. I took a deep breath as I stepped to the side, and threw door open as I welcomed her inside.