Day's Beginning

Yesterday morning I went early to a regular check-up analysis at the local clinic. I don't usually leave the house until later in the day, and it was interesting to see how the day was beginning. The days are growing longer, and at eight fifteen in the morning, the light was dark grey, made darker by the morning fog that enshrouded everything. As I drove to town, trees and houses materialized and disintegrated in the mist. There were few cars, almost all of them bearing people going to work at that hour. 

I passed an intercity bus pressed into school service picking up children for one of the local elementary schools. As I drove past, parents went walking back in the gloom to their homes. A child was packing a sports gear bag almost as big as him into a car.

Sounds were muted. A few early birds were greeting the day, which grew lighter as I drove. I passed a woman hurriedly walking to the door of the hair salon she worked at. A bar was opening its shutters. Another school bus passed by, this one ferrying kids to one of the private schools in Noia, almost a half hour away. 

As I drove into town, the vendors were setting up some of their posts for the Wednesday market in the main square. Few were there yet, just frames being assembled. Lights were on in the municipal gym, readying probably for a gym class from the elementary school next door. A pharmacy's green cross sign was flashing; it had been the after-hours pharmacy that night, and the shutters for the general public were still closed. Only emergencies would be attended to, yet, for another hour. People were walking along the sidewalk, some, parents with young children going to school. 

The supermarket had its lights on, but the shutters were still closed. Its morning shift workers had already shown up to do the behind-the-scenes work of a supermarket. People were walking to the clinic. Despite the prohibition of parking on the sidewalk in front of the door, cars were already lined up there. Parking space is at a premium on those streets. As I circled around the block, looking for a spot, the street lights turned off. Their orange wash disappeared, and the street began to reflect bluish morning light, the sky growing lighter as the minutes progressed. 

I found a spot and went to my appointment. When I came out, there were small spots of blue in the breaking fog, and the morning had well begun. In a couple of months, the beginning of the day will be awash in sunlight. Now, we can feel the promise of that sunlight approaching.