Sister-Woman liked the view from behind her barricades and so she stayed there as much as she could. It was easier than the alternative. She stayed behind her barricades looking out at the world through a haze of wariness and cigarette smoke and waiting for something she couldn’t quite put on finger on.
Brother-Man thought of himself as hero and he carried himself thusly. It was a gentler madness and his compatriots let him embrace it without trying to draw him back to the norms of the crowd. He went through life looking for wrongs to right and damsels to save and feeling quite pleased with himself for his righteousness.
Sister-Woman wasn’t sure what to make of Brother-Man when he approached her barricades looking for a way to break them down and “free” her. She watched…with equal measures of fear, fascination, and foreboding…as he, smiling and seemingly sure, carefully examined her barricades looking for a place where they might give.
Brother-Man wasn’t sure what to make of Sister-Woman when he approached her forbidding barricades but he decided that she was woman in need of rescue and that, of course, was his destined role and so he set about the task. He wondered what she was thinking as she watched him…smoking and looking at him with seemingly dispassionate curiosity…but that didn’t deter him from trying.
Sister-Woman found herself strangely moved by Brother-Man’s valiant attempts to break down her barricades. She put out her cigarette and reached out and pushed. A small space in her barricades gave way and Sister-Woman looked into Brother-Man’s eyes and almost, but not quite, smiled.
Brother-Man held his hand out looking to free her from what he saw as her prison…it’s what heroes were supposed to do.
Sister-Woman held out her hand looking to see if life outside her barricades was something that she really wanted to go back to.
Brother-Man and Sister-Woman joined hands through the space and held on for a small eternity. And then, tentatively, each of them took a step forward.
It was a start.
No comments:
Post a Comment