Lolo

Sun, 06/30/2013 - 18:02 -- labello

Location

 

Stressed out, exhausted, and irritated,

scurrying back to my old, trusty Subaru Forester,

I abandon the library and heaps of unfinished work I deserted with it.

Only a handful of vehicles left in the parking lot.

12:30 AM, dead campus on what is now Thursday.

Dead silent.

Pitch black.

No one in sight.

 

Feeling a peculiar presence present,

Possibly something or someone lurking behind,

I begin to feel nervous.

With my hoodie up for the crisp, nippy night,

I glance back over my left shoulder.

Nothing.

I resume from my halt

And keep pushing forward.

My Air Max 95s begin to pick up the pace,

As I think to myself

‘Get it together fool!’

 

I peak back again.

A few paces back in the near distance,

I see a short, stalky older man.

Terrified. I sprint ahead

Only to witness the same man

Magically appear in front of me.

Illuminated.

Only recognizable from countless the photos

Found in the many dusty photo albums

in the depths of the big blue plastic totes

Relaxing among storage in my parent’s garage.

 

Lolo.

In English, I guess I would just call him, grandpa.

The unforgettable face with the stern yet friendly expression

Was all too familiar.

Draped in a black long sleeved polo with brown knickers

Sitting atop a pair of dark brown loafers .

The man who I had only known through stories

Passed along by family.

The man who raised my father.

The man who I have cherished for so many years

without ever feeling

his voice or presence

was in front of me.

 

I blink once.

He’s gone.

I’m shook.

Not because I’m scared now,

But because we did not speak.

So many thoughts, so many questions

ballooning in my head.

How is Lola doing?

Is heaven what I think it is like?

Why do you eat your rice with coffee?

But most of all,

Are you proud of me?

 

Stuck in a daze

I brush off my thoughts,

shaking my head attempting to

rid myself of the mental cobwebs

still tangled around my mind.

I turn back to the library.

I’m wide awake now.

Until we meet again, Lolo.

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