The cold damp wind swirled around my body as I walked on the pathway of the dimly lit street. Winter is arriving with a vengeance. My hands are frozen, yet, I have a sweat up from walking to a steady pace for so long, must have walked at least two kilometres now. I cannot see if the street ends or turns, it is too dark to work out, the street lights are placed erratically, not like to city lights where I am from. I thought she said “follow the main road”. Well, I am on the main road, a dark, dimly lit main road. I looked back, did I miss another point of direction. I am to turn left after Tot Spot and the Scarlet Women sign advertising a play currently running.

Oh, at last, there is the early childhood centre, not much of a childhood centre if you want my opinion. So, where is the Scarlet Women sign? I am getting worried now, after thirty minutes, I should have reached her home by now. I’m going back to ‘Tot Spot’ and start again. Some directions, the Scarlet Women sign is on the other side of the road, facing the other way. My blood pressure is rising, I’m starting to get emotional and stressed. Uh, I should have written down those instructions. Okay, go over one more time in my head, what did she say to me on the phone? Forty minutes from the swimming centre. Walking distance, that’s what she said, walking distance. Swimming Centre, Shopping centre, Tot Spot, Scarlet Women, passed all of those, what have I missed? Here it is; the alley-way shortcut to her street. That’s what I missed. Mm, it does not look safe, no lights, its dark, and the weather’s lousy. Might go back and get the car. I should go back and get the car. But her house is just at the end of the alley two houses on the right.

I’ve been watching too many movies; go on, it is only fifty metres, go. I can hear voices, what are they saying? I can hear two people conversing with each other. “K”. “No, it is K full-stop”. “You don’t get it, no-one does okay, anymore. It is just too long.” “What does K mean?” I hear chuckling. “K means – the end, K full-stop means, that’s it, enough, I am going away, it means you’re angry. Almost, like I can’t be bothered with you anymore”. “Oh, you’re kidding, so when I answer K full-stop, you think I’m mad”. “Uh, yea, you need to get with it, that’s why I don’t bother to answer you, I’m out of here”. The door shuts and a young man walks down the path on the other side of the fence.

I carry on walking; we both meet at the end of the two parallel pathways. We both look each other in the eye as we pass each other by, we side step around one another. He enters the alley-way and disappears into the darkness; the alley-way looks a lot longer now the door from his house has been shut. I turn, and move towards the right and my gait has increased to reach my relative’s house two down on the right.