Tied In

Chapter 6 The Night

After making it to the nearest tram station which was rapidly full of middle aged men which feared me as I sat down alone beside one. Old guy, white—yet cheeks were red as a bell pepper and the "I love my country" t- shirt gave me a white supremacy impression of him. He glanced at me for a second and so did I. He smiled and with his teeth— his yellow; jagged; deep stained; vacant teeth. Quite seriously If a fly flew out I would not be slight surprised.

"Hi, how are you young lady," he glances back for a second—smiling without a show of his teeth.

"Good and yourself."

"Good, good, just hanging in there," he quietly says as the tram approaches us. As I tensely walk up to the screen doors opening and stepping into the fluorescent lit, warm, and humid air. The man followed behind me and as I sat down, their he was right beside me out of all the empty seating. He wasn't bothering me so It was fine, I felt a tad uneasy because he was sitting on the outside. We began to move, as I'm looking out the window at the Seattles space needle—the one I would possibly be stuck seeing for the entirety of my life.

7pm and the bus stops at down town Seattle, I had been rehearsing the poem I wrote of Alex a year ago in my head. I told myself I wanted to express the gratitude, love and endearment I had towards him to the entirety of the world one day. This would be a first step towards that devotion. Walking late at night down the pathways lit up by trees wrapped in fairy lights, looking around the builds and few cars passing. Approaching the cafe which the poetry slam was hosted, the door was oh so sleek—elegant.

It was glossy black; gold trimming; French architectural engraving and 2 long windows down the front. Hearing the loudness of jazz and people over talking to one another, I push open the door before I could back pedal. I took a whiff of the polluted air then stepped inside, the smell of grounded coffee beans dark lighting and low- pressure sodium lights/orange lighting filling the stage just enough to see the one person on stage. Looking around for Leigh through the dark in desperation because I was ready to leave the second I sat down. Seeing a shadow approach the stage—it was her going up onto the steps while everyone snapped their fingers.

Her eyes were glossy red. She was confident, seemingly to be immensely cheery to be here. A face full of joy and a smile bright enough to enlighten an entire stadium. She walks up towards the Mic—clearing her throat. "Hi everyone, I'm glad and very pleased that all seats are full tonight! I just want to say thank you for you all for being here at my poetry slam, tonight I'll be performing a brief poet I wrote called "Love."

She looks around nervously but the smile hasn't faded a bit, the small crowd including my self snapped— some whistled as the soft classical music began.

Love. Society says that "Love is just a word." Ah, the concept of love, It is a notion that transcends the mere confines of language, for it is a feeling that dwells within the depths of our souls. Love, a profound sentiment of profound affection, its essence cannot be contained by a single word. It is an emotion that defies definition, for its true meaning lies in the boundless depths of our hearts.

The crowd snaps as she bows down, "Thank you, thank you, everyone. Last for tonight we have my dear friend Kiera that I recently met." The lights dim on the entirety of the cafe as I felt attention point towards me. "Hey Kiera, come on up on here!," I stand up nervously, smiling as all eyes are on me. Brushing down my skirt and keeping my head down while stepping up onto the stage— the lights began to dim; I no longer could see the audience—hardly. Yet, I fully acknowledged they could still see me.

"Uh, I showed up a little late. But, hey everyone. My names Kiera. I'm 17, born and raised in this city—Seattle." Quickly readjusting the mic—making a screeching sound, "Sorry. Um, we'll I've  been doing poetry ever since I could remember. But tonight I'll be reciting a poem I wrote for my boyfriend that I love. It doesn't have a name. But also I just wanna say thank you to Leigh for inviting me tonight and being such an inspiration!"