United States -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction
She walked through the streets as one who had already found another
country. More than one turned to look at her. She reached her room at
last and pulling her one little chair up to the window sat staring out
across the alley at the brick wall across from her. But she was not
seeing a narrow alley and a high brick wall. She was seeing rushing
rivers and mighty forests and towering peaks. She leaned back in her
chair--an indulgence less luxurious than it sounds, as the chair only
reached the middle of her back--and looked out at the high brick wall
and saw a snow-clad range of hills. But she was tired; this tremendous
idea was too much for her; the very wonder of it was exhausting. She lay
down on her bed--radiant, but languid. Soon she heard a rush of waters.
At first it was only someone filling the bath-tub, but after a while it
was the little stream which flowed through her forest. And then she was
not lying on a lumpy bed; she was sinking down under pine trees--all so
sweet and still and cool. But an awful thing was happening!--the forest
was on fire--it was choking and burning her! She awoke to find smoke
from the building opposite pouring into her room; flies were buzzing
about, and her face and hands were hot.
She did little work in the next few days. It was hard to go on with the
same work when waiting for a thing which was to make over one's whole
life. The stress of dreams changing to hopes caused a great languor to
come over her. And her chair was not right for her typewriter, and the
smoke came in all the time. Strangely enough Out There seemed farther
away. Sometimes she could not go there at all; she supposed it was
because she was really going.
At the close of the week she went to the office with her work. She was
weak with excitement as she stepped into the elevator. Would Mr. Osborne
have the transportation for her? Would he tell her when she was to go?
But she did not see Mr. Osborne at all. When she asked for him the clerk
just replied carelessly that he was not there. She was going to ask if
he had left any message for her, but the telephone rang then and the
man to whom she was talking turned away. Someone was sitting at her
old desk, and they did not seem to be making the changes they had
contemplated; everyone in the office seemed very busy and uncaring, and
because she knew her chin was trembling she turned away.
She had a strange feeling as she left the office: as if standing on
ground which quivered, an impulse to reach out her hand and tell someone
that something must be done right away, a dreadful fear that she was
going to cry out that she could not wait much longer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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