Maymuna and Hafsa fell asleep in the car this afternoon (no surprise seeing as they've been up late and awake early the last few days) and so Ozayr and I drove around the city for almost an hour, giving them (and us) a bit of a break. Ozayr's stream of consciousness driving took us past Bell High School, and we couldn't resist driving through the parking lot and peering in through the glass doors...
Everything seemed... smaller. The lockers, the doors themselves, the front walkway where we'd all go to catch the bus. The grounds are now dotted with ugly 'portables' for extra classrooms, but otherwise there is not much change from when I was there last. It has just shrunk.
Leaving the school was the biggest difference: there is a highway now which runs right next to it, right through Bruce Pit, our old rebel grounds. I tried to remember the old roads, the old way home and I closed my eyes and I could visualize pulling out of the parking lot in a friend's old car (a certain green station wagon more often than not) and heading home...
For a fleeting moment I could really feel what I remember feeling then... a bright and sunny day... the freshness of the air after being trapped in a stuffy classroom all day... we could go anywhere, do anything! I remember that release, feeling free at last, and the giddyness of getting to be with my friends again and laugh and sing at the top of our lungs...
There is a simplicity to this scene, we have not yet begun to consider the great questions in life, or even the medium sized ones. No one has had children, or lost a parent, or lost anything at all. We are just enjoying the day and loving the moment, turning up the radio loud.
Funny thing is, though I smiled remembering all these things, I wouldn't go back to 16 years old for anything. Anything at all. :)
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