Along a secluded stretch of the beautifully landscaped bike path. He waited. She rode up noticing he wasn't dressed to exercise. She felt afraid. He stood on the path facing her. She stood and peddled in case he tried to prevent her from passing. Where he was standing, the trail curved. He could monitor who was approaching in both directions simultaneously. She shouldn't be here alone. She didn't want to feel frightened but she did. Later that day she recalled it being the man from the college who asked her about typing. Her understanding of being stalked like prey wasn't able to manifest. She felt like a nuisance. An insignificant human. Someone focusing time and effort onto her wasn't something she was accustom to. That fear of being alone in that moment with that man. Was from a different sense then her place in the world. Her place throughout time. Her ability to defend her life. It is a stress the modern world tries to subdue. The illusion of equality. The mastery of the ego. The primitive pecking order. The well being of all. The sense of self each individual brings along inside their daily journey. The events that lead up to a violent encounter. The breaking point where civility ends. Primitive actions don't mean violence but how to know what switches the mind from one to the other varies inside people. An outdoor setting verses a library. Behavior constraints and socially established mannerisms. Nothing guarantees current stable human interaction.
It's not what you think it's what you believe. Patricia '96
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