A Quiver in Reality

I looked up from where I was walking and noticed that something was off. I had everything I needed, my backpack, my shoes and my hat. People were going to class as usual and because it was Halloween weekend, there were a couple people wearing their costumes to class. I saw Woody Allen get out of his car and a couple blocks later, I saw Grim Reaper casually walk to class, with his robe dragging in front of his sneakers. Yet, I still couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. I looked in the sky and saw the clouds hovering lower than usual, the grey carrying the weight of a rainstorm. I ignored my intuition and walked a little faster to class; I only had ten minutes to spare. As I made my way through campus, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself as I saw another student ditching the idea of being a character, but instead, they donned a bathrobe. It was as if they wanted to appear as their true selves for today, an identity of true comfort. I made it to class on time and sat in the back of the lecture hall as my professor talked about how we should address ethics as I jotted my thoughts in my notebook, smudging the ink down the right side of my hand. Fifty-five minutes later, the professor ended the lecture by charging us to do the right thing and I slipped my notebook into my backpack, put in my ear buds and started walking back to my apartment. I took a deep breath of the clear air, grateful to finally be finished with class for the week when I noticed a strange breeze pass in front of me, yet the trees remained still and a bicyclist didn’t just swerve in front of me. The campus was calm and just as it should be and suddenly, I felt like I was wearing a large hat and everyone could see my frantic revelation in the atmosphere. It felt like the weight of the atmosphere suddenly dropped on me, but only I could notice it. It felt like I was submerged in the ocean, quietly drowning but no one could save me from my demise. It felt like a slight quiver in reality, so small that it didn’t cause any damage. I paused my music and waited if it would happen again, but the air stayed still so I moved forward. When I unlocked the door to my apartment and when I was able to breathe in the scent of my own comfort, did the little disturbance escape my mind. It was just a simple day in my life and I moved forward.