image: https://goo.gl/images/NxGAuf
It's a rare rainy day here in this tiny Colorado mountain town. The rain falls steadily, the mountains are wreathed in mist, you can smell wet clay and sand and rock. The pale light, the rhythm of the raindrops, the darkness of the sky above...it's not something I'm used to anymore, living out here in the west, and I treasure it when it happens. It's like being tucked into a soft, cool blanket. Everything seems less urgent.
After dropping my kid off at school today, I had the following conversation with another parent in the parking lot. I was feeling all lazy and happy, enjoying the rain. The atmosphere had a gently surreal feeling to it, and so did the conversation that unfolded:
"Hey J, how's it going?"
"Oh I dunno. Weird. Human beings are weird."
"Yeah...we are. I guess it's one of those things you can always count on."
"It's weird being a human." She explains, which has an entirely different meaning from "Human beings are weird". She has a funny look on her face. Almost like she doesn't know how to use her features.
I laugh. "What...what were you before?" I ask. By which I mean 'what were you in other lives', and I can see that she knows it. She pauses, thinking.
The pause continues...
I laugh. "I'm only half joking with that question", I tell her.
She blinks, nods. "I know", she replies. She gives her head a quick shake, as if to clear it. "I'm just being a human. I've got electricity and running water and I'm taking my kids to school and cooking stuff."
"You're 'humaning'". I say.
She grins.
"Yes, I'm 'humaning'"
I grin right back and turn to walk to my car, which is in a different part of the lot.
"Happy humaning" I call to her.
"Enjoy your day", she says. She's walking to her car too, mumbling something into her coat collar. Something I think maybe I'm supposed to hear. I stop. "What?"
She stops as well and turns to face me. "I know how to be an alien and I know how to be an animal but I don't know how to be a human", she says, raising her voice to be heard from a distance. Then she turns and keeps walking.
I laugh, turning and walking too. "See you soon J", I say affectionately.
"See ya" she says
And we both get in our cars and drive away.
©2018 Bennett Italia, all rights reserved.
Horizontal rulers courtesy @cryptosharon
