The best place to hide anything.
Seems like there’s never a good hiding place when you need one. Even if that weren’t true, Alex doesn’t think a hiding place would help him now. Not that he’s trying to hide anything. In fact, he got the hiding train of thought from something his Grandpa told him years ago. Of course, his mind began making connections. And why wouldn’t it, after what he just experienced?
He leans over again, and places his hands on his knees. He might hurl. Therefore, he closes his eyes and wills it to pass. It’s delayed panic. Maybe a kind of shock. But he can’t help it. If there is such a thing as being shook, he is utterly shook. He stares in disbelief at the chaos below him. There is smoke and an enormous amount of dust. From what Alex can see, the whole building came down.
“I wouldn’t go that way Mister. It ain’t safe today.” The words come back to Alex as he stares at the carnage. Now he can hear alarms. Smoke alarms. There’s no fire though. Just crushed cars and probably worse. He can’t pull his eyes away from the wreckage. He would be under all that, if not for the message. A message he almost ignored. It would have been easy too. But that would have been the end of him. The complete end.
The Best Place
“They hide in plain sight. Can’t always tell when you encounter one. That’s why the heart matters so much.” His Grandpa’s voice echoes back to him, from all those years ago. Alex was no more than a boy, but he remembers the solemn look in his Grandpa’s eyes. He remembers his Grandpa’s belief in angels. Alex was just a boy, yet he felt breathless with wonder. And he knew his Grandpa was the smartest Grandpa in the world. So he listened for every detail.
“They are quiet when they appear. So quiet you would swear they were there all along.” Alex remembers trying to imagine an angel quietly appearing from thin air. Back then it was an awe inspiring thought. However, that was more than thirty years ago. Alex had seen a thing or two since then. In fact, he hadn’t thought of that conversation with his Grandpa, in over thirty years. Not until today. Now, he can’t stop thinking about it.
“I wouldn’t go that way Mister. It ain’t safe today.” The words echo in his mind. Just ten words. But ten words that saved his life. He almost didn’t listen. Almost went his own way, anyway. Except. His eyes take in the destruction below him. He feels his stomach lurch, and he puts his hands back on his knees. He might still hurl.
Anything Hidden
The athletic community center is where Alex spends his weekends. For three months he has been studying for his certification. His plan is to take the certification test next month. He’s more than ready. For example, he shows up an hour early every Saturday. This gives him the best place for more time to study, before the rest of the class shows up.
He shows up an hour early, and always parks right down there, in the middle of the complex. The best place now buried in rubble and debris.
Furthermore, he uses the elevator. Mainly because it’s the only one, which is why he parks in the middle of the complex. Otherwise, it is the steps on either side of the huge structure. Like the ones he’s using now. There has not been anyone he’s spoken with in all the time he’s been coming here. Until today.
Not one person has been around when Alex arrives. Until today. “I wouldn’t go that way Mister. It ain’t safe today.” Alex almost ignored the rough looking guy from the start. It was obvious the guy was homeless, and probably deranged. But it was what the guy said after that. Alex would have gone straight to the elevator car, and been in it when the structure collapsed. If not for the last thing the homeless stranger said when he passed Alex in the parking lot.
“Listen to your heart.”
Thank you for reading! Like, follow and share The Frog Journal on X @1finja1 – and on The Frog Journal Facebook page click here. Subscribe to the free newsletter to stay up to date on new content and updates.
All original stories. Download in seconds, new titles weekly. The Frog Journal e-book shorts.
