THE TRANSPARENT MAN

He removed the dust from his eyes and he tried to keep them open against the sun. He wrapped himself tighter in his own body and let himself flow in the rhythmic sound of his breath, his city, his life. It was still too early and the morning humidity and chill made him shiver. He walked slowly in the main street of the neighborhood. He remembered growing up, getting into a fight with some boys, going to the movies, going for so many rides with his bike, going for so many strollings with his dog. All these images were almost transparent in his mind, a blurry collection of experiences that he felt he had witnessed some time in the past, but now they felt as if they were washed out at the back shelves of his memory. It was as if the past was mixed with the present, and what he had imagined so many times before was finally a powerful reality that he could relate to. The passing cars were few and the road seemed so big. He flicked the leaves from his sleeves and he let him himself dive in the vastness of the urban landscape. The street was comforting, a sea of asphalt and endless route possibilities. He gazed the kilometers opening in front of him just like the traffic light would turn green for the pedestrians at the intersection. And at that point he paused. He admired the big, grey buildings that looked old but imposing opposite him. He glanced discreetly at the man standing next to him waiting for the traffic light. A young man, with headphones in his ears and sunglasses against the sun coming out, was fumbling about in the pocket of his carefree hanging backpack. He smelled of freshness, energy and after shave. The light turned green. The young man overtook him and pushed him by passing his hand through his chest, as if he never saw him, and with a big stride he reached the pavement across the street and continued his quick pacing. The man who stayed behind started coughing. He stayed still, a man with no destination and no present, against the sun coming up. He wrapped himself even tighter into his own body and he reversed towards his past.