For the past few years now, I have been keeping nearly everything I supposed to remember in written form. Names, places, events, appointments, anything I would like to remember, down to the silliest thing I saw a few minutes ago that will lighten up my face for the rest of the day.
This afternoon a kind neighbor took me and several other people on a quick tour around the neighborhood to one particular corner with streets I have never set my foot on. Who could have guessed that this neighborhood had such an endless boundaries. I don’t know whether they just keep stretching the edges as the years went by, or was I simply lack of enthusiasm compared to everyone around here. Maybe, but I should have keep my friendly, yet deceiving enthusiasm to minimum, or else, I keep getting myself into things I wasn’t interested in.
“This is a very old neighborhood, you know. It has water tower on that other side…” he said to the group, as started the tour. “..a lake on that end..” as he pointing to another end of the neighborhood, much closer to where we are standing, “..a ruin of castle on that hill, next to that gorgeous mansion.” Looking at his enthusiasm, I swear, if he is not currently up for some award for being a dedicated, and certainly proud a citizen, I don’t know who else will deserved it. “..and oh! a Well down there!” he shouted. “…please, be careful before you step further”, he continues.
“This is one of the oldest thing that the neighborhood owned, built exactly when somebody start developing this area in 1880s.” He walked around in circle, as he keep narrating everything he knows about the particular finding we just encountered. “..however, it was dried up soon after it was built and nobody knows why. Nobody wants to lived on this neighborhood at that time. Maybe because they set it up on June” he explain further. Quick on their tongue, I never like whenever a tour guide end their sentences with an improvisation. It makes the whole story less convincing, for me at least.
“Go on, throw something into the well. See if there is any water left in there”, he encourages the crowd to participate on the one-way conversation he has been leading us so far. “..maybe today is our lucky day, finding out that the well had been saving us a water all these year. Who knows.” This time I am curious of something else though, why do we always intrigued to throw something into the darkness, the unknown, the questionable distance. Maybe we are born a curious creature, but certainly an annoying one. I threw my first aim.
“Did you hear something?” asked our jolly tour guide. “No, not on my end“, I said. “Okay, don’t be discouraged, throw another one”, he continues. “why?”, I asked. “It is fun!”. So, there goes my second aim to the bottomless pit in front of me.
“C’mon, third time’s a charm!” By the time he said that I no longer remember the purpose of me doing it in the first place, so I let go of the third aim that never actually leave the palm of my hand far enough to reach the target. “such a shame, it could be our best shot for today. Anyway, the next place we are heading to is…” he responded as he carried on with the tour.
The Loudest Backyard 