Writing Prompt: IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT YOU

WRITING PROMPT: IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT NOBODY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD KNOWS ABOUT? WRITE ABOUT IT. IF NOT IS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT YOU OR SOMETHING YOU'VE DONE THAT WOULD SHOCK YOUR FRIENDS IF THEY FOUND OUT? WRITE ABOUT IT.

Actually there IS something that I don't think I've told anybody about. Nothing important to anybody but me. The year I lived in the D.C. area I spent many hours wandering through the museums, the monuments, the "mall" area; the places that are notorious for visitors and tourists.

I loved being there because I was a nobody which meant I could be anybody I wanted to be.

I could (and did) sit in front of a Monet painting for three hours and imagine I lived in his world. The streets and sidewalks were full of interesting people, vendors, musicians and I would meander through the crowds and hubbub looking at things, touching things and learning about things that I would never have thought to pay attention to in another life. I REALLY NOTICED and made myself aware of what was going on around me and it constantly moved me. I was young.

Then there were the monuments. In pictures they seem like big boring statues. In reality they take your breath away. My favorite was the Lincoln Memorial. I don't think a week went by the entire year I was there that I did not visit him. It made me feel important just to be in his presence.

One day I had spent seven or eight maybe even nine hours on the mall listening to music and watching people and I knew it was time to go home. But I had yet to walk up the stark and humbling stairs of the Lincoln Memorial so I knew I'd better visit. Getting to where he sits is no small chore. If my memory serves me correctly there are between 90 or 100 stairs. With each step you feel as though you are getting closer and closer to something special. It's very overwhelming. I loved every minute of it. On this day I had decided that when I reached the top I would sit and rest for a bit after such a long day. However when I arrived, there were too many people lolling about so I decided to walk to the back of the memorial which looks out on a major bridge and highway structure. Cars, taxis and busses were busy coming and going. Life was pressing on in front of me while another life was ominous and memorialized behind me.

I sat on the very edge of the monument and dangled my feet over the high edge and looked out on the world. The sun was just beginning to set so the colors were vibrant; bouncing off each other. The warmth of the day was giving way to a refreshing, renewing coolness. Eventually I scooted backwards and leaned up against one of the giant pillars, settling in for the most emotionally powerful nights of my life.

I can't remember what time the monuments were supposed to close; I think midnight. Although for some reason I couldn't leave. I sat there for hours watching the day turn into night. I pondered life. I thought about all the reasons I loved Washington D.C. I thought about my family. I thought about my future, my past, my dreams, my goals. I watched the cars rush by each other in a huff. Their lights all turned into red and yellow bands of moving light snaking around each other, through each other, faster, slower. Nobody in the world knew I was there but me.

I was invisible.
I was invincible.

I believed at that very hour that if I were to have spread my arms out and jumped off that monument that I could have flown. The cool breeze stirred me. It moved me. It pushed me forward. It lifted me to places I'd only read about. I closed my eyes, turned my face into the wind and in my mind I flew away.

It must have been extremely late when I left. To this day I don't know how many hours I spent there and I am sure it was very dangerous for me to be out so late by myself in the city. But it didn't matter. Not that night. I felt more alive than I've ever felt before or since. I often think of the experience and my heart does a little flip. I don't know if it's because I miss the city or I miss the feeling of being both invisible AND invincible. I've often wondered though, had I really jumped, where I would have landed once the winds let me down. I'll never know. But I'll never forget that night.