Dark Clouds

My twin alarms earned their keep again this morning, waking me up at the exact time we agreed upon. Colors were fuzzy as exhaustion clouded my sight. A few moments passed before I found myself ascending a slight hill in search of java. A dab of milk and a pack of sugar and my day was in full swing.

I took a swig of the hot, dark liquid and my senses tingled. My body shot up and readied to work like an old car kicking into gear. A quick gaze outside revealed yet another wall of gray surrounding Gotham City. The Queensboro bridge, with its body taught and parallel with the East River, still draped over as city workers provide the metal mammoth a new paint job.

Eyes locked back on the computer…coffee sipped appreciatively…cell phone placed in easy arm’s length…fingers placed upon starting positions on the keyboard…work commenced.

Work ended.

Feeling slightly ill from an unusual level of exhaustion, my body started to reject the idea of venturing out into the city. Unfortunately for my body, my cohorts had other plans. A second shower washed away the day, an ibuprofen slid down my throat diffusing my headache and a couple glasses of water seemed to get me on the right track.

Off we went to the dirt and litter filled subway system, which incidentally, boasts more history than one can possibly imagine. The train tunnels and standing platforms hosted sauna-like humidity levels that spawned instantaneous and unstoppable sweat drops from rolling from my forehead to the divots of my eyes.

The train arrived and cold air, coolest in the city, engulfed each rider. Sweat evaporated and created spots of salt all over my body. The train stopped, the humidity rushed back in and the sweat fought its way back to the forefront of my skin.

The clouds grew darker like a veil over the city, mimicking the drapes of the Queensboro Bridge. My cohort and I took shelter in a cool billiard hall named SOHO Billiards. This game room featured an impressive 30+ tables, each with well-groomed, bright green felt tops.

Meanwhile, the sky grew darker.

Amidst the joy of my afternoon, mother nature read my mind. Mirroring the incoming clouds, the difficulties in my life started to loom over me ominously. Regardless of where I go or what I do, these soul-piercing clouds create panic and eventually find a way to draw my attention away from the good times at hand.

“When will I be rid of these plagues? How is it that they find the worst times to come?”

My faithful and loyal cohorts with their relentlessly elevated spirits, slowly but successfully burned away the dark clouds and I soon found myself tearing apart a deliciously cooked chicken leg from its bone and mixing it with an oddly added hard-boiled egg…I used my hands as tools. I remembered the excellence of Ethiopian cuisine.

The sky cleared after dinner and my troubles followed suit. But the humidity that has suffocated New York City since day one remained intact. As a yellow cab scurried on the FDR heading uptown, I realized that while I banished the clouds, the humidity remained in my thoughts as well. It would take much longer to shake these more constant troubles away.

For the first time since I arrived though, New York City was helping me do that. I released a small smile and looked at the night sky over midtown.

“I’m going to be OK,” I said to my cohort who knew not what I was rambling about.

A sudden, midnight blue hue of paint splattered onto my canvas…a special request by NYC herself.