3000 Mile Journey

I heard angry thundering from the distance kilometers away. The weather seemed to be in sync with my fury, my sadness and my fear. In a few moments, tiny droplets of rain fell on the dry soil propagating intense petrichor in a gradual fashion and for the first time i hated the smell of the rain. I have thought about  paper-boats sailing on scattered water after the sky stops crying, I have thought about gasoline spilled on the ground displaying rainbow colors in the light, i have thought about the calming rhythmic drumbeating sound of the rain on tin roof lulling me to sleep. Too fast, that is how the weather changes on this side of the earth, every waking moment seem to just pass by in a magical blur. Most days were unremarkable, forgettable and irrelevant, and there were days so significant that they will haunt you forever. 

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Sitting in my favorite solid oak dining chair sipping my morning coffee, strictly strong and always black, feeling nostalgic, i recounted the coast-to-coast journey i made early this year. The atmosphere outside my New York City apartment contains humid summery air blowing in and out of the half opened windows,  non ambient sound levels coming from the neighbor’s air conditioning units and the busy expressways, and free floating corona-viruses which killed hundreds and thousands of Americans. Its  crazy how overnight the lights on broadway go out and the subway closed for the first time. No more spectacular shows, no more fine dining under the stars and no more midnight trains. In a matter of weeks, the greatest city shut down, which has forced people to quarantine at home, to hunker down, to think about life and to stay connected, as the stealth virus mercilessly and indiscriminately kills the vulnerable. 

Life in New York is exciting, for me, a good enough reason to convince myself to move here, and so i took the courage to drive seven days straight from the sunny West Coast to the bitter cold East Coast, a 3000-mile journey of a lifetime. I have endured all kinds of weather along the way. January, i tell you, is not the best time of the year to travel, or more so to do road trips. I took the liberty to explore a bit to keep myself entertained as i traversed the famous Route 66. It has been five months since i moved here and i feel like I haven’t done much exploring yet, the pandemic has put everything into a halt.

To be continued...