I wrote a short story.

I hope you like it. It's still a work in progress but I'm happy with this first draft. Comment if you wish. It's an account of what happened to me this morning, though in a more poetic manner.

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It’s 5:30AM and you can’t sleep. You sit up in bed still wearing the clothes you passed out in the night before. Outside the sky is light blue in one corner, fading to the dark blue of night in the other. The stars shine in half of the blue expanse. The sun will soon rise so you throw on some sandals and make your way outside to catch the sunrise.

You walk between the two dormitory buildings under the shade of the fading night sky. A cool breeze blows but it’s still warm enough to be comfortable in shorts and a long sleeved shirt. The sparrow’s call is the only noise that breaks the silence of an early morning college town. A couple, holding hands, walk out of a building and jump over the small stone wall guarding the sidewalk. They look at each other, smiling, and you begin to reflect on your own feelings.

You’re single again. Every time you have something you let it slip away. You’ve told yourself you’re not ready for anything more than the casual hookups. But deep down you know that’s not the case and the couple walking contentedly ahead of you drives that point home. You want that feeling they have.

What do you think each time you leave your room? Do you just leave, or do you pause to think about what the coming trip may hold? Do you imagine walking up to a girl watching the clouds go by and striking up a conversation? Do you imagine meeting someone you’ll want to spend the rest of your life with? Does the question, “What if?” run through your mind?

Today it did.

Your walk takes you to a small path next to the art building. A hedgerow lines one side of the path, a fence on the other. Squirrels and rabbits run about on the grass past the fence. When no people are about they seem so much more relaxed. You stop and watch a squirrel burrow into the ground and pull out an acorn. A tickle in your throat leads to a cough which breaks the reverie and the squirrel scampers up a tree. You continue towards your unknown destination to see the sunrise.

It’s bright now even though the sun has not appeared. All traces of the stars are gone. Still no people are in sight. You change directions and begin heading north instead of east. The south quad, an expanse of grass, lies before you. As you turn the corner you hope to see a girl standing in the middle, here for the same reasons as you. But there is not. If only the world worked that way.

With each turn you think you see a girl out of the corner of your eye, with her head tilted towards the sky. But when you turn to see her, she vanishes and returns to your mind. You let out a short breath and walk on.

You see an alcove with a bench near the auditorium building, with a weather-worn stone bench. Two mourning doves sit next to each other, letting out their plaintive call of “cooah, coo, coo, coo.” You can’t help but think they look happy being next to each other on such a beautiful morning.

The main quad on the campus is abandoned. The hundreds of people that normally frequent it are all asleep. The criss-cross of the sidewalk break up the grass into triangles of green. You are disappointed that no girl awaits you here either. The thought of stopping here crosses your mind but you feel that you need to keep going.

The sidewalk takes you through a small patch of pines. Their needles litter the ground, and the branches sway in the wind. It’s one of the few pine species that have soft needles and you run your hand through then as the wind continues to toss them about.

Across the street lies the last open space on campus, and it’s the most beautiful. This is where the sunset should be seen, you decide. You cross the street without bothering to look for cars. There are none to look for. You make it to the north quad. Trees line the walkways, some with small white flowers that smell like something familiar. Yet you can’t place the smell. You walk to the center of the open space, which is a bridge over a small creek running through the area. It’s bright now but the sun is still out of sight. In the east an array of colors are visible, all variations of red, orange, yellow, fading into the blue sky.

Suddenly the sun appears over the top of a building. Its coming sends a bright orange glare, reflected across the thousands of windows on the buildings surrounding the quad. All your thoughts vanish, as you stare at the colors. Moments like these are few and far between. The sparrows still call, the squirrels still run about, and the wind still pushes back your hair. The event you had waited for had come, but a person to share it with is nowhere to be seen.

Still, the sight elicits a feeling of content. You tilt your head to the sky and look up, still with the smile on your face.

By now the sun has risen so that all of it is visible and the moment passes. You take one last glance at your surroundings and turn to leave.

The walk back is slow. You aren’t in any rush, and anything is possible.

Then you see her as you reach the long sidewalk, three blocks long. She walks towards you and you towards her. Her brown hair is tossed about by the wind but you can see the faint outline of a smile. You smile too, though you’re still a block apart. As you get closer you shift your gaze from her and focus on the sidewalk. You count the cracks and watch the ants scurry on the sidewalk as she draws near. A quick glance towards her reveals she is doing the same.

Then suddenly you’re side by side, and then you pass one another, both looking at the ground, not even a quick glimpse at the other.

A few paces after passing each other, both of you pause mid-step. She lets out a sigh at the same time you do. You want to turn around, you want to call out to her, you want to talk to her. But you don’t, and she stands still as well with her head turned a bit, as if she’s listening for you to say something. You stay silent, and she looks forward again. Again you two sigh, but then you just walk away as she does the same.

The sighs linger in the air where you almost met, floating and mingling together and for a second you hear a faint “what if….” get carried away by the breeze...
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I stood on the circular bridge when the sun rose.

Nice, pretty good.

Good work.

One question, why does it speak as if it is talking to you... like you woke up and you looked out the window, you think...

I dunno, it's just odd.. Still good tho

Fuzz that is very well written and something most people have experienced at some time of their lives - the reader relates very well - excellent stuff!

Write a best-seller and you'll have girls trying to break down your door!

Cheers for the replies guys.

Thats a nice looking place in that picture...where exactly is it?

It's the engineering/north quad of my uni.

That's a real insight into teen life I find, I felt like that today myself, pretty depressed. But rep, and good job, man.