the glove
Le
Yes, it’s getting colder as time passes by – the sun must be close to setting. I am still placed in the dusty edge of the parking underground and nobody has yet laid their eyes on me. The winds are coming from all sides, bringing even more grains of dust and sand with their force. The unsettling darkness and silence are only held back by the flickering fluorescent lamp. During the coldest months I get reminded of you by passersby who get in their cars quickly and disappear into the only source of light in the horizon.
And how is today treating you?
Ri
Most of my days are disguised as nights. Darkness is all around me at all times except for when she forgets to close the door and a ray of light comes through the thin crack. Then I could see the others silently waiting around – hats, scarves, and more wool gloves.
Last night I heard her say something along the lines of, “It would be a cool idea to make something out of that lonely glove I have since I lost the other one.”
There was also a foreign to me voice in the background, which responded, “We can still go and look for the other one. Weren’t those a gift from you mom?”
“I told you, it’s pointless – I have no idea at what point I must have dropped it. Also, it’s been months and by now it’s probably looking like trash anyways unless someone found it.”
“What would anyone do with a single glove?” asked the foreign voice.
Le
You might soon be given a new purpose, while I will perhaps remain invisible. And yet, in my eyes our fates might still be more similar than it seems. Your depiction of the dark closet with a pile of forgotten clothes vaguely reminds me of the neatly swept pile of leaves and mud I was thrown into once. It was warm there, and hidden from all the heavy smoke and echoing noise. However, I felt unwelcomed, cold and disgustingly dirty. My whole body was filled with mud that reached all the way to my fingertips. I looked unappealing even for the homeless souls roaming around the concrete space.
That seemingly apocalyptic day marked the moment in which the loneliness translated into uselessness. I was freed from human possessions, and became one of those things in the gray city that merge together with the cement only to never be noticed again. The only thing to keep my eyes wide open would be the aggressive breath of the city carried out by the daily human struggles that unfolded amongst all the chaos.
Even right now, I am hearing a deep voice in the distance, talking loudly. I notice a single person speaking passionately, throwing arms into gestures as though talking to somebody, but I see nobody else around. The voice is coming closer and closer, I can hear the words more and more clear.
“Yes, but can you believe this? She said to me that the portfolio didn’t seem complete yet when I know damn well how many late night I had to pull in order to finish it! Yes. Yes, I did include the interest rate too. Ughh, I did, I did this as well. I even said to her that…no, I am not getting discouraged, I know it was just a feedback, I just can’t believe the tone in her voice!”
The sound is slowly growing and I can now hear footsteps too.
“That’s true. Well…I guess you’re right. Hey. Hey. Wait a second, did you say you lost your glove somewhere around 5th avenue maybe? Yeah, well I think I found it! It has to be yours. Though it’s looking exceptionally bad. Should I still take it? Yeah, alright. See you at home, love you!”
He is now coming right towards me but faster than before. He just picked me up, and I am finally able to look around more thoroughly and…aghhh! Oh no…
Ri
Why did you stop? Did something happen? I cannot hear you anymore. I just heard her talking on the phone. Hopefully I am not wrong but I believe that he found you and now he is bringing you here! That must have been the hand that picked you up just now! I cannot wait to be reunited again after such a long time!
Please say something, why aren’t you responding to me! Wait, I could hear someone at the door. Maybe he is finally here!
“Hey, welcome back, I have missed you so much!”
“Ahh, me too honey. I can’t believe the busy day I’ve had. I’m super hungry!”
“Well, let’s eat then, I’m almost done with dinner.”
“Yeahh, let’s goo! Oh wait, let me show you the glove! I put it in my bag…”
“Oh no, is this really how you found it, geez. It looks terrible, I barely recognize this thing…”
“You think we can take it to the tailor to fix it up?”
“No, there’s no point. Just look at it, it’s completely ruined. It has a bigger hole than the glove itself, full of sand and mud, the color is completely different and all those strings sticking out. I guess I’ll just have to throw them both away now. I appreciate you bringing it back though.”
“No worries, I thought you might want to repurpose it. But I guess you’re right. It didn’t survive the city unfortunately. Now you’ll have to dump them both.”
“It is what it is. I’ll get new ones. They’re just gloves anyways.”
the peripheral view 