In the City at Night, Essay Example

I often go walking around the city at night. Many people are afraid of entering the empty streets, but there is a certain beauty in being alone. I mostly walk to get to where I need to go, but will often take longer paths so I have a chance to take in the silence and darkness. Most of the time, I try to find new places along my way and think about what these places mean for the thousands of people living within a few feet from where I walk. Even though I love walking in the city at night, I can’t imagine I’d ever live here.

Although I enjoy walking in the city alone at night, I always have a sense that there is some potential for danger. I like to pretend that it isn’t there, so I listen to music through headphones and walk more quickly. Despite the danger, I continue to walk my long paths to where I need to go. It’s a strange sense of excitement, because I never know what will happen. I always consider the possibilities of every situation as I walk. What happens if someone stops to talk to me? Will they be friendly? Will they be harmful? How do I know when I need to run? What if I should run no matter what? As my thoughts race more, my music gets louder and faster, and I hurry along the way.

I’ve walked the same way many times, and I’ve walked a different way many times, even though my destination is always the same. Sometimes, I like to stop at stores along the way, looking into their windows even though they aren’t open. I imagine what it would be life if I were able to shop in them and afford the expensive clothing in the window. As I was lost in thought, staring at the newest display on 92^nd street and Lexington, I felt a cold wind blow behind me. At first, I thought it was a rat, as I’ve seen countless rodents run from the stacks of garbage bags on the side of the street. However, I caught a glimpse of a shadow that indicated to me otherwise.

I rarely get frightened on my walk, but after seeing whatever this figure might be, I decided to walk the quicker path towards my destination. There seemed to be some degree of safety in being more certain of my arrival, even though the pathways seemedmuch darker than normal. As I walked hurriedly towards my destination, I started to wonder what brought me to this city in the first place. While there was some sort of dangerous excitement to it, I secretly hated it. This is a strange place. And for the first time, my worries that some strange event would happen to me during my wandering came true.

What was that thing? It seemed human, but was almost too quick for this to be true. I lowered my music in order to gain a greater sense of my surroundings, but was unable to gain any helpful evidence. So, I continued to walk, as fast as my legs could carry me. Finally, I hit my half-way point. “I’m almost there I thought!” I started to slow down, with a false sense of security. I bent down to tie my shoe, and felt the air get cold again. I quickly looked backward in shock, and saw the shadow racing towards me. All of a sudden, it hit me and I fell over.

I fell shocked and frozen. It hit me, but I still didn’t know what it was. How is this possible? Whatever, it was just disappeared into the thin air. I was a little more frightened than I was initially and was in no mood to think rationally about this situation. I stood up without fastening my shoelace, and ran as fast as my feet could carry me. Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far before I tripped over my unkempt lace. I hit the ground, landing on my knee, immediately feeling the pain. I wasn’t worried about the injury and was about to start running again when I realized the extent of my pain. I was bleeding all over and did not have the strength to stand up.

Then, the cold appeared again. I knew the shadow was coming. I crawled against the wall of the nearest building and held my knees, helplessly. Out of the corner of my eye, the shadow figure revealed itself. It was a strange shape, nothing I had ever seen before. As it crawled closer and closer into the light, I became more and more frightened. What is this thing? I shivered until it fully revealed itself. The shadow that was following me had finally revealed itself to be a matted street cat. Relieved, I stood up and gave a sigh of relief. I glared at the cat distrustfully, and continued walking towards my destination.

Even though this cat follows me every day, I never seem to remember his diligence for following the smell of my leftover lunch.