Half an Hour: Chapter 1

*unedited* 

Half an Hour

     It was a beautiful spring day, the first truly spring day we’d had all year and I had been cooped up inside. Kept separate from it all day. Unable to experience it. Only allowed to dream of it. I had half an hour between my afternoon class and my evening class and I was determined to experience the day before it died. So instead of staying in the cafeteria, I took my dinner outside with me to the steps of our flagship building: Troutt Hall.

     As I sat upon the old stone steps, I let my eyes rove my surroundings and my mind rest. The sound of the birds chirping in the trees was really relaxing after my intense day. Occasionally I could hear the sound the wind made as it rushed through the trees on its way to tangle through my hair. Not often though could I hear the sound of the wind. The grumbling roar of cars and motorcycles on the nearby street was ever present. I don’t know if the it could be called a main street in this small town, but it was popular.

     As my eyes roved the beautiful landscape and my ears grew used to the sounds of the wind through the leaves, the birds in the trees and the cars going by, my senses were jarred by the unusual sound of metal striking metal with a quit almost hidden tone. Automatically my eyes sought the source of the sound my ears had heard. At first I couldn’t place it, but as the wind rose, I heard it again. This time my eyes found it. Standing high above the people and the buildings, one of the only things on capus still lit by the light of the setting sun, framed by two rows of well-aged, tall-standing, and still leafless trees, rose the flags of our Nation, our State, and our School.

     The light rolled across their majestic faces as the wind that ruffled my hair rippled the deep colors that they so proudly wore. Our school flag, clad in colors of green and gold, coyly shared the face of the goddess and seal that it proudly bore, before shyly hiding her from my sight. Playing a game with the wind. Beside her, standing just as tall, wove the flag of our State. Clad in bright sky blue, almost disappearing into the color of the sky. Only her slow movements showing that she was not at one with the heavens. Towering above them both with a grandeur and pride not matched by the others, rose the flag of our Nation. So proud and majestic she shown, her colors of red, white, and blue making a statement that challenged all of heaven and earth to bring her down. The wind did not play with her as it had played with the school. The wind knew that she was proud and mighty, so the wind did its best to slowly roll her face across the sky without interruption. And when the wind grew weak, she did not chide it, or berate it. She merely waited patiently for it to regain its strength again.

     The sound of the University bells broke through my reverie, telling me I was late for class with its deep, sonorous tones. As I quickly gathered my half eaten lunch and headed for the door, I had to pause and look back at the three proud flags waving in the wind. With a deep breath I nodded to her, the greatest. And pledged in my heart to be as the wind and keep her flowing strong. And I knew that should I fail, she would patiently wait for my return.