There is a boy standing in front of a shop. He looks around, to the left, to the right, down the street. Waiting for someone, that much is clear. That someone isn’t coming yet.
I look at him. It’s been there for a while. No idea how old the boy is. Estimating age is not my thing. Maybe because I’m getting older and I’m far removed from young people. I have been standing in front of the window for a while looking at the boy.
I don’t know why he stands out. Regular boy. Well dressed, but not strikingly dressed and no crazy hair or anything. Maybe it’s the wait that’s intriguing. Standing and looking around. To the left, to the right, down the street. Ah, he laughs, so someone is coming.
No, not. No one’s coming.
He remains standing. I don’t know how long, I don’t check my watch, though I keep looking. Suddenly he walks away, underneath me into the building where I am on the first floor.
Is that someone no longer coming? Or is he done with it? What does this mean? Forgot an appointment? A sale that doesn’t go ahead, an afternoon in the pub with a friend? Or is this the sudden end of something? From a relationship? A life? That the person the boy is waiting for had an accident. It’s what I always think.
What’s striking: I don’t see him looking at the phone. Everyone, especially young people, looks at their phone every second. But it’s not one of the options that crosses my mind, because the guy will be back pretty soon.
He continues waiting. Looking left, right, down the street. Then the boy walks away again, towards the center. And turns not coming back.