A Tale of Signposts

The year of pain and unfortunate necessity.

I had just finished from a very boring day at school, and had just boarded a public bus. The atmosphere was quite pleasant; carpeted seats, all the windows were closed, and perhaps best of all, there was hardly anyone on the bus.

As are all my favourite days, the sun was currently hiding behind the black mass of clouds in the sky. I looked out of my window, examining the cars whooshing by, spraying the walls and pavements and equally other people in a shower of muddy water.

The island pavement we passed by bore two signs, shallow ones. One was a One Way and the other a Children Crossing.

This...is their story.

*

"Oh, yeah, baby. Light my fire!"

A car drove past, coating the One Way sign in water. The sign quivered with delight.

"Mmm, oh...mhm, yeah. That's just...perfect."

"Oh, please stop all that moaning, dear. You're giving me rust," said the Children Crossing sign.

"Aww, shuddup, you..."

No one knows why, but these two particular signs were very much alive. Apart from that, they glorified whenever they got showered in dirty rainwater. They moaned and shuddered when it happened.

*

A car drove by Children Crossing, showering her just as much. She giggled.

"Oh, well...yes, I suppose it is lovely."

"Told you, you saucy minx, you."

More cars rushed by, and they moaned in unison.

"Wooooooaaaaaahhhhh," they screamed together.

'One Way' shook his pole-stick, and said "This is why I love winter".

"Hmmm, but really, darling. Didn't you ever wonder why we're here? Why we exist?"

"Nah, it never really bothered me, to be honest. Cars don't come my way whenever they see me, but they come from behind, and children are always crossing near you. That's a good enough explanation for me."

Another shower onto One Sign.

"Argh, wow, today's a real doozy."

He was rusting all down his spine, and the shiny blue laminated surface of his face was peeling away. But he didn't care. Children Crossing was much more well-kept. She was a lady, and cared much more about her appearance. But with all the water that sprayed them in the Winter months, Children Crossing was beginning to rust too.

They kept going with their monotonous lives though, loving the Winter, loathing the heat of Summer.

"Do you remember our old home?" Children Crossing asked.

"Ugh, you always find something to ruin the moment, don't you? Yes, I do."

"I still remember when we were just made. All brand new, no rust...ah, those were the days."

"Meh - say what you will, but I'm glad to be rid of them. I wouldn't give this up for the world. Even if the 'hot' months last longer."

More sprays of water.

"Oh, God," he said. "That hit me right on the spot."

One big wave covered Children Crossing.

"Pffft! That nearly drowned me!"

"SHUT IT AND LUMP IT, WOMAN!"

"Humph! The impertinence!"

And with that, she nodded off and went to sleep.

"Oversensitive hag," One Sign said, and continued to moan with pleasure.

*

Author's Note

The chosen Genre could not state enough just how nonsensical and stupid this is. Back then, I used to try convincing myself that a good writer could write about anything, even the smallest of ideas. This was one of them. I can even actually recall what the weather was like on this day. Oh boy. I hated the year 2010 for a number of reasons, and this just reminded me how much. Even writing while thinking about it is honestly hurting quite a bit - not in the 'oh god had I really written this' sense but 'wanting to throw up from too much bad memory exhaustion' sense. A person sure can change in four years, and thank goodness for that. What can I say...I guess these years were necessary to come to this very point of what I'll unashamedly call enlightenment.

Written 14 January 2010.