A Story by Leo Gonzales

Image: Untitled by Leo Gonzales

I. A dark apartment alone is with him and he rests his head on the hardwood floor. With no furniture and the promise of a job, the new world is with him in a windowed frame. Of sepia on Christmas Eve he considers the nature of his work space, carrying a tree to his floor. He decides he wants a tree and goes to work.

II. He waits at a shop, understanding the sound of the city with the mechanisms of an automobile he doesn’t understand, and a coffee stain in his office guides his guidance to the same feeling. He dozes off with a sales sheet and considers waiting on a client, calling, and instead makes calls, waits.

III. Instead of a holiday bonus, a coat is given to him. Herringbone design is what he’s told but he remembers it was called another name. He accepts it and drives home a quieter road. Upon driving down this road, intuition tells him to stop and walk through pine trees ready to be taken. A sore arm tells him to just admire.

IV. He recalls a discussion raised before a man leaves for work, the nature of the phonogram and how heavy it was to lug up. He continues his drive and pulls over to a phone booth, calls the desk of his boss – he tells him to remember someone before he forgets, you’ll probably get a few clients.

V. Back in his apartment, he rests on the hardwood and places his coat beneath his head. There’s still time to buy a Christmas tree but he sighs alone in a happy way. The window shows the city and he wants to hear a song.

This work was featured in issue #11