The steady rhythm of loneliness

Ever feel the air from a sixteen wheeler as it blows by your outstretched thumb? I'll tell you, its a bitter feeling. Depending on the time of day it is anyway. Sometimes when the sun is in an unforgiving mood and the asphalt on the highway shoots the heat right back up at you the wind is a nice little treat. The feeling of your skin getting burnt gets chased away for a few seconds and it tosses your hair around a bit. The air brushes up against your cheeks. Then you realize that was the first vehicle you've seen for a few hours and from the looks of the highway and its lack of cars as far as the eye can see it'll be the last for awhile. The heat returns and you continue along the highway pressing forward toward the horizon, dancing in the hot afternoon air.

Then again If it's the morning or sometime during the winter its a different deal all together. that monster comes roaring along beside you and the ensuing blast of shrieking cold tears across your face like a fistful of knives. You turn your head away but still the wind laps at your face with its icy tongue. The gust dies down and you're thankful its gone back to a tolerable cold. You'll adjust your hood and that scarf you bought for a few bucks back in the last town from a rundown little pawnshop and you'll keep walking, listening for that hopeful rumble of a car that wont ignore the thumb you hold out.

Of course those are few and far in between. The ragtag clothes with more holes than cloth make goddamn sure of that. Though there are days you don't want to get picked up. the sun isn't paying to much attention to the top of your head, The breeze seems to follow you and hit you right when you need it, The guitar you play to scrounge up some cash holds a comforting weight in your hand and the world seems pretty decent to you. S**t, why lie? You're happy. Not the ecstatic happy that makes people leap around like Idiots and laugh gleefully. Its a different happy. The kind that makes you see the beauty in everything and appreciate it, From the motion of the grass as it ripples beneath the wind or the delicacy of a flower perched on a treebranch.  It starts in your mind, makes a direct connection to your heart and spreads like a warm glow everywhere. The rhythm of your feet tapping along the road  keeps your ears occupied while your surroundings keep your eye always moving. Its these moments of peace that make the wandering worth it. Every night unsure of where you're going to sleep and the consistent soreness of your muscles and the lonely roads all pay off then.

 The air around you begins to hum and off in the distance you see a small black dot, like a shiny beetle, racing toward you. The humming gets louder and finally turns into a dull roar as you stick out your thumb. The car whizzes by and red tail lights come on. A hand waves you forward, and as you jog to the passenger door you feel a small pang of regret as you realize you'll be spending the next few hours in a car instead of outdoors. You exchange pleasantries, tell him where you're headed (The nearest town obviously), and you speed off with the steady rhythm of your feet still clacking in your head. 

Author's Note

I'm not sure if it's an extended metaphor or a short story or introspection. Get out of it what you will. I just sort of sat down and wrote it one night and it rings true to how I felt at that moment.

Reviews

[roarke]

Nice moment capture. It offer's the reader an intimate look at solitary life on the road. Over all, I didn't get a feeling of loneliness as the title suggests, but rather a personal celebration of taking life and all the little things face on.
Good narrative voice.

[words at play]

Thanks for the review! I kinda of agree that the name doesn't fit the story too well, but if I were to give away everything in the title what fun would the read be?

[Jack Reaper]

taken allegorical, it can be viewed in various ways. something that makes you think about how, even in a grossly overpopulated world, we are all truely alone.

[Aaron]

I like it. It was a fun read. It could probably use a good thorough edit. Some of the formatting and grammar slowed me down a bit. I really liked it.

Thanks for sharing.

[words at play]

Yeah, in retrospect I probably should've done more than a quick skim over it. I'll probably go over it sometime soon. Now that I reread it it's bugging even me. Thanks for the review!