Last night, I woke up at around 2:00 a.m., and had a bit of trouble getting back to sleep - something that happens to me quite often. I decided to get up and walk around the apartment for a while, even went out on the balcony and sat outside. While I sat I watched the sky - the storm had now passed, but it was still overcast. Some 15 minutes later, I went back to bed...
...the sky now is not overcast - it is ablaze with stars! The balcony is much larger and winds around the east side of the building, and I am able to see an almost panoramic view of the heavens from all sides. Even the smallest star shines bright and distinct. Constellations become distinct and alive. I am joined by some other people and as we all stare and drink in the beauty of the heavens, I hear one of them ask, "Is it time of the Full Moon? Will we see it soon?" I shake my head and reply, "No, another couple of days will bring complete Dark of Moon time upon us." I feel a small shudder of awe and even fright go through the group.
Some time passes and I am now in the company of my friends out in New Brunswick. Richard, Jen and I are walking around Saint John downtown. We are joined by some other of their friends, and it feels like a making of a grand party. We go into an apartment (unknown whose apartment this was), and gather around a large kitchen table for some great food, drink and boisterous talk. Suddenly, some one begins singing in a deep resonant voice, and I am delighted to be able to join in "Barrette's Privateers" (channeling Stan Rogers, perhaps?). For some reason, at this point, I feel called to be elsewhere, and reluctantly I take my leave. To my surprise, a number of people come with me, all of them saying that they too feel the call.
We walk out of the apartment, still humming, "God damn them all, we were told..." in perfect harmony, and make our way down hill. Eventually we come to what appears to be a large broken-down trailer. A rough-looking man is sitting outside in a typical pose - beer in hand, dressed in shorts and t-shirt. He seems uncaring that we want to look through the trailer (at this stage, we don't know what it is we're looking for, only that we must be here). I walk in and as expected, it is very messy in there. Heaps of garbage, soiled laundry, dirty dishes are all about us. Going further into the trailer, I hear a sound of a baby - and become almost frantic in my search for the child.
I find her in a small playpen. The child, about 7 months old, is dressed in a filthy shirt and her diaper obviously is in need of being changed. I take care of this instantly, because it's a small miracle that I find a bag of diapers close at hand, but can do nothing about her garment. Beneath the smudges, her face is rosy and she has curly golden hair and very dark blue eyes - a beautiful child with a sweet disposition who deserves much better. Walking out I now see that there are also piles of animal droppings, and from one corner a scurry of mice that have obviously infested the trailer.
I join my companions, and we all walk outside again. I tell the man that it's criminal how he treated his child, and again with total indifference he shrugs and says it's difficult as a single father. I become very, very angry at this and say, "What's so hard - dishes need doing, you wash them. The baby needs to be cleaned up, you change her diaper!" But I see that nothing moves him from his uncaring stupor.
We turn away and leave him to his life, which I know will change quickly once the authorities come to him. I already feel reluctance at surrendering the child so attached I have become to her, but am resolved to do what is right...
No comments:
Post a Comment