Student Publishing Program ::

Taylor Patch

The Old, New Town

A haggard man stumbles into his old town after a long journey. His beady eyes dart from here to there. He thinks to himself, “Where am I?”

Wandering through his old home, remembering all the people’s faces and places, down the street a ways he spies his old dear friend. Rushing up to him, he embraces him and starts telling tales of his journey. His friend, whom he barely knew anymore, laughs with his blood shot eyes and ambles away. Dumbfounded, the traveler casts his eyes around sadly in hope of some salvation from his distress.

All he saw were new houses towering above their ancestors filled with wild and useless things. Peering into a window, he sees children hiding behind their screens, anticipating fun. Turning away in disgust he sees two now estranged people talking.

“Did you see that new car that everyone’s getting?”

“Yeah, I just had to get the accessories from it for mine.”

“Well, I need to go buy some new clothes. The ones I have are just dreadfully out of style.”

The traveler, turning to another window, watches in disbelief as someone pries into another’s life while everything around them crumbles.

He backs away slowly and turns. He sees everything at a distance, being secluded from the past. A child sits weeping on some steps while a group of others walk away from her. The traveler walks over to console her and asks her what’s wrong. She gazes up at him through eyes stroked with tears, and sobs to him that she was left from her friends while they carelessly went to some party. They left her in her undesirable, revolting state. The man, heartbroken to hear this, tries to tell closed ears that it does not matter. He walks away downtrodden even more than before.

Looking around at the beautiful day, with the sun the brightest he ever remembered it, little white clouds floated lazily above the singing birds. They sat delicately in trees that were full of green leaves, adding even more colors to the world than all of the grasses, flowers, and rocks already have done. He looks shakily around and sees his old world slowly being filled from some invisible facet, with hate. It was as if some drain pulls from it all the love and peace that once existed.

Heartbroken at the sight, he slowly slinks away into the woods for a new journey that surely would ease his pain. Entering into the forest he glances back once more upon the little town he once knew so well, only to find that the days which once passed were slowly being dripped away.

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2010 EDITION]