#7

Mariko Beyer

It was early when he woke, as it was every morning when he rose and prepared to leave for work.  Usually at this time even the moon was tired of hanging in the sky, but the sun was not quite ready to rise from its bed either.  He didn’t turn on any lights, there was no reason to disturb the rest of the family, besides he knew his way around the house without using his eyes.  After kissing his wife and children good morning he headed out towards the garage, carrying his hat and lunch pail that his wife had prepared for him the night before. 

There was no one on the road now, just him and his truck.  This was his least favorite part of the day.  Part of him yearned to return home and sleep besides the warm body of his wife, while the other side wondered if the rest of the world had disappeared.  During this hour not a soul was around, all the lights were turned out and nary even a rabbit or skunk could be spotted.  It was a very lonely hour, even the radio DJs weren't on the air and had simply left prerecorded tapes running.

About 30 minutes into his one hour commute toward the city civilization showed itself again.  Now more cars zipped alongside him and some of those crazy fitness people were jogging on the sidewalks in their fluorescent running suits.  That isolated witching hour was over and the earlier thoughts drifted to the back of his mind.

He arrived at the construction site first.  He usually did, he liked to be there before the rest of the crew simply so he could stare up at their work for a few moments.  The other men would laugh if they ever saw him with his gaping mouth and admiring eyes tipped towards the clouds, but he truly felt wonder looking at the metal frame stretching up to the clouds.  Soon, the sit was bustling with workers operating machines, moving supplies and climbing the construction.  This was to be the tallest building in the city, exceeding the next closes structure by a whooping 38 stories!  They had just finished the “skeleton” for the final story yesterday and today they were beginning the work of enclosing the “open-air” office building.  It was a shame that people could not work in such a building without walls, divided cubicles and closed doors.  It seemed people were always hurrying to cover openings, create dividing walls and such.  He would have liked to stop work for a few days, just so that the building would have a few last days of freedom, before they enclosed it in its casements. 

The morning quickly passed and by noon they were already up to the 10th floor.  Now there were only 100 floors left to go.  The foreman was quite pleased with work accomplished and gave everyone an extra hour for lunch.  Before the decision was recalled, the site quickly cleared as the workers rushed to their trucks, nearby cafes, bars and cafeterias to enjoy a leisurely lunch.    Everyone hurried off the site but him.  Pretending to be busy with something in the back of his truck, he turned down offers to join friends for lunch, but instead grabbed his pail and hurried to the construction lift.  He took the lift to the 100th floor and from there climbed the makeshift steps to the top.  Now he had only an hour for lunch, but that was long enough.

Staring down from such a height, he was high enough to touch the clouds.  He carefully balanced himself on a solid beam and laid out his lunch on his one foot wide bench.  He chewed on his sandwich slowly as he stared down at the happenings below.  The cars and people were only bits of dust floating around on the plain that stretched out below him.  The tops of other buildings were so far away that he had to squint to make out the TV antennas.  There was nothing behind him, in front of him or above him.  There was only him and this narrow seat in the world right now.  Everything else was so minuscule that they were insignificant to him.  Even the birds flew below him and no other words could be heard but his own.  Putting his thumb to the air below him, he could blot out the entire world below him and to the sky he could blot out the sun.  From here he could see everything, but was a part of none of it.  There were no rules, boundaries, influences or persuasions by outside forces, it was just him.  Similar to the early morning darkness, he was alone, but here he did not wonder if the world was still there, but rather did not care if it was.  Too soon it was time to return to the ground floor.  He finished his juice, packed up his pail and prepared to head down.  He gave one last glance to view and began to head down. 

Everyone was in good spirits from their extra long break and began work with a refreshed vigor.  Working a little later than usual, the crew managed to complete 10 more floors after lunch.  Finally after a long day they were permitted to return home.  He arrived home late, found his dinner on the stove and sat down to eat it alone.  The children had already gone to bed and she had left for a one night conference in Malta.  He cleared the dishes, packed the lunches for himself and the children for tomorrow and went to bed.

For four more weeks this cycle continued.  Everyday he’d rise up early for work and spent the entire day at the site, allowing that precious lunch hour for his solitude on the top.  Finally the day arrived when he drove to work and knew that by lunch his seat would be covered in cement and flooring and his view blocked by a window.  What a shame it seemed for the window and walls to be there.  And he knew that the window would not even be appreciated by the office’s tenant who would most likely scarcely even glance out of it - or worse yet place some of those hideous blinds over it.  There was a small party prepared for the crew during lunch was a celebration for the completion of this project.  The company had promised juicy steaks and buttered potatoes.  Personally he had hoped for a hot dog or hamburger, but the company felt it had to provide something that had cost a lot of money to show their appreciation.

He did not stay long for the party, just long enough to grab a drink and a few rolls. Heading home early that night he thought of what a shame it was they had put up that window.

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