Jen was flying happily. She spent a lovely afternoon on a date at the Guggenheim and a stroll along the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Central Park Reservoir with brownies from the By the Way Bakery. She and Jake enjoyed the art and their walk. They ended their date with a nice embrace and meaningful kiss. They agreed to meet for dinner next Thursday.
She texted her sister to let her know things went well and were on her way to her apt. And asked her if she wanted to meet for pizza. She felt so relieved that she met a new guy and he seemed to like her. Maybe she’d rid herself of Marc. Let him stay with his goth girl and they can beat each other. They enjoy it.
Meanwhile, Alana was running through Central Park. She saw families and couples picnicking. She knew she’d never be in that situation. But she was coming to terms with it all.
She stopped by the boathouse for a beer. She sat outside by the lake and sipped her Sierra Nevada. She heard lots of conversations. People were talking to each other. Louder people were screaming into their phones. Typical NYC day.
Alana tossed her beer bottle in the trash and started walking toward Strawberry Fields. As she jogged over she tripped over some garbage. She heard some kids laughing at her. But she let it go. No need to beat up little kids.
She heard the usual folks singing Come Together and Hey Jude. At this point, she was thinking of letting it be. The tourists were taking their pictures on the Imagine mosaic. She heard laughter and tears. She sat on a bench and hummed Penny Lane. Alana was one of the lonely people.
She stared into space. A ball bounced up and hit her in the knee. A little kid ran over to it. He apologized and took it.
She headed to the train. One of the loons was hanging by the station. He was panhandling and made inappropriate remarks to her. She kept walking. The guy had a female accomplice. She started yelling too. Alana moved on. She always thought it was best to walk away.
She walked toward the Gap. She heard their taunts. She thought they were getting softer. But they weren’t. As she opened the door to the Gap she felt a blade running down her the back of her coat. She moved her elbow back and hit the person wielding the knife. It fell out of her hands. She spun around quickly. It was the woman who was taunting her.
Alana wanted to just go into the Gap. But the woman sprung up with the fallen blade. Alana figured she was probably a mentally ill woman who was discharged from a psych ward as the insurance ran out. Marc dated those types.
She was perplexed. She could let it go. Or strike. The woman tried to stab her. At this point, Alana’s eyes bulged. Her fists clenched. She opened them and figs flew out of her hands. They smacked the aggressor in her shoulders. Some landed in her ears and up her already stuffed nose. The woman screamed. Alana kicked her down. She went into the Gap and bought a skirt.
Mitchell's thoughts, photos, etc. 