The Stage

 Like any other day Michael walked down the street from his job at the corner grocery store. He was heading home. He lived alone in a small basement apartment in the heart of the theater district. It was noisy and dark but it was affordable as long as he worked both jobs. One room served as his bedroom, kitchen and living room.

One side was hot because it sat next to the boiler room. Through the thin walls he could

almost see the ancient beast that squawked in an unknown long lost language. It spoke in a series of groans and bangs. No doubt calling out for a long lost love. Michael was sure that it was the last of its kind. Night after night as Michael lay sweating near the wall in his rollaway cot he would listen to it calling out. There was a mourning wail that increased in urgency. A desperation. A longing for a love long ago lost. It would quiet as morning drew near. Its voice shaken and worn. Its energy all but lost. Finally unable to cry anymore it would whimper and fall still as sleep overtook it.

Six short feet away against the other wall was a cold breeze. There were times that Michael would sit in his one wooden chair and listen to the shrill winds carry in the busyness from outside. The honking of horns and screaming people would drift from the one brown stained window that was pushed up against his ceiling. A short piece of glass nary 8 inches high interwoven with wire to keep it from being broken by the irritated foot that may happen to slap along the building.

His walk home took him by so many magical places. He purposely skipped over two blocks to Broadway so that he could walk by the Winter Garden Theater and the Circle in the Square. He would smile because those marquees would remind him of her. He can still see her clearly dressed in her dance shoes and leggings. Her smile would light up the stage. Her voice when she sang would carry to the heavens themselves. 

Her name was Sandy. They had gone to school together. Way across town. Hell, way across the world it seemed. That moment that he approached her will forever remain etched across the inside of his mind. The puzzled but joyful look. The way that her blue eyes danced and sparkled with her golden blond hair that she always pulled back into a small ponytail. He liked that. It allowed her face to greet the world in its full glory. Yes, he remembered that look. A small but polite smile. One eyebrow slightly raised in wonder as Michael drew near her. He remembered how politely she had turned him down. She explained that the theater was her love and that she hoped he would understand. Michael smiled. 

He had lived in the theater district since graduation. 5 years now. His plan was to become a star. Who knows? Maybe their paths would cross again. He had made the first big step. Almost Broadway. The David Nederlander Theatre had given him his first big break. Yes, three times a week he could be found there. Not quite the stage. He could be found sweeping up the debris left behind by the audience. Still, he was getting closer.