It snowed the night after dawn
SHA YAN
When I was walking to the bus stop after I finished work, it started to snow.It was early winter, two days before Christmas Eve. The trees on the street were just bold. Branches on them were covered with thick snow. They looked like they wanted to bow themselves. The snow on them looked extremely white and shinny flicking while the light snowfall danced in the sky. The sky looked dark. The street light on Main Street was flashing faintly with whitish-yellowish colour. I turned over the corner and walked to the bus stop.
I was working in a restaurant to do the delivery. It was one of my many jobs already, I just found a while ago. One and a half year earlier, I was having a very good paid job doing what I am interested to do. The company became no good, I became unemployed. I was searching for a good job, but it seemed the economic condition did not allow one to work on what they are interested and get a good pay. Job is hard to find. I started to work in the restaurant around the town, and sometimes a little better paid part time jobs. The situation was stressful.
I stopped at the bus stop and waited there. Downtown streets looked empty.Occasionally there were some people walking by. Two younger also were waiting for the bus, two males. They were talking about their adventure in the pub tonight dancing with girls. It was after mid-night already. They seemed very excited. It was cold tonight, I felt. Especially when I just came out of the heated restaurant. Two young men wore very little clothes and started to make little jumps on the snow to keep their feet warm. The bus drove slowly to the stop. I stepped onto the bus. Two young men went into the bus after. The bus closed its door, and then it ran into the darkness.
The bus is not crowded, a few people scattered. Some of them were talking. I found a seat in the back, sat down. I looked at the running through building in the downtown streets in the dark. I sighed, another year...Along with the motion of the bus, I rested in thoughts.
I did not make very much money in the restaurant delivery. And I have to pay for the gas. The money I made for the job just could cover the gas and the food. Yesterday I talked to my father that I wanted to quit, he is mad at me. He is right, I must support myself. He is my foster father. My real father is dead during Chinese culture revolution, before I was born. He was a writer. Communism party in China made him to write after the establishment of communist country in China. My real mother was afraid of the government in the culture revolution because he married my father after the establishment under the arrangement of the government. She gave me away, to my foster parents. Can I hate her? Anyway, even though it is important. My foster parents, well, did not treat me so bad. But I still miss my real parents.
Thoughts took me back to the restaurant; I wanted to quit even more because of the gas today. The boss is a bad guy. I delivered the food to a family. But the address was the wrong one, about three miles further from the customer. I went back, then he gave me the real address, but he had to warm the food because it was cold. I realized later he just want me to spend more money on the gas for the three miles more and the running back distance I had to drive. That was all because I made not bad tips today, and he wanted to adjust my earnings. What a cheap guy he is, isn't it? I suddenly got sad. I decided, to leave that restaurant. I wanted to find a better job or to write novels, or better yet, to start a business.
The bus has stopped. I stepped down the bus, and the bus again ran into the dark. What a night, I turned around. It was still snowing. The white snow flicks dropped on the ground without a sound at night, just after the dawn. The air smelled fresh in the dawn. I took a breath and then walked through the street filled with the snow, back to my home. |