Polar Bear
September 29th, 2020
Starring: The Picker (20-50)
THE PICKER
They say you can know a lot about someone by looking in their wallet.
They also say you can know a lot more about someone after they’ve noticed they’ve lost it.
They is me.
...
The first truth I know to be true.
The second truth is more of a hypothesis. I’m never around to see them pat their pockets, searching frantically, calling embassies and authorities. I’m already too far gone, rifling through what they’ve lost.
…
My last wallet was February. On my preferred metro line. Heated cars, so the jackets come off. Nightlife still existed, as did filling enclosed spaces like sardine cans. At a hostel-heavy stop, three young men pushed their way on in front of me, swaying from their evening beer intake. Their slurred speech made it hard to know what language. I would find out soon enough.
A Brit, an American, a Finn. It was so simple, like a dance. Had I known it would be my last, I would’ve enjoyed it more.
...
It is a much harsher world now. Everyone is alert, on edge, afraid of touch. Fear has turned feast into famine.
At night, instead of riding the rails, I sit watching the nature shows.
There’s this one on the Arctic. They showed a polar bear crossing an ice shelf. The shelf was breaking apart. The bear hadn’t eaten in months. But it kept forward. It kept forward because that’s all it knows. Alone, hungry, and scrounging for what’s next.
I hope it’s a wallet.