Is he dead?
tonight deborah and i walked to 7-11 to get a red box movie. as we’re walking, i notice a cop sitting in his own personal black suv reading a thick book with tabs sticking out everywhere like a bible. i made a joke saying, “he looks like he’s sleeping.” we kept on walking, go to 7-11, can’t find a movie we want so we left, then we went back to my apartment.
three hours later, after watching a movie and doing some work, i walk her back and we pass the same black suv. he’s still there. still reading his bible. his head is down in the same exact spot, as if he hadn’t moved the whole time.
“he looks like hes dead.”
….
“omg.”
“what if he is dead.”
we walk past him again, no movement, hes definitely not awake.
“can you imagine the guilt we would feel if he actually were dead and we just kept going?”
….
after about 10 minutes of debating hypothetical scenarios, we decide to keep going. on my way back, i told her i’d look.
on my way back, i begin to approach the car. my heart beat faster and faster as i imagined a dead man in his car. could it have been murder? a suicide? drugged? is there a cop nearby so i can talk to him in case he is dead? i feel a vibrate on my pocket. it’s deborah asking me if i had passed the guy yet.
it’s so dark outside that i can’t see anything inside the car, even at 15 feet away. the car is black, the windows are tinted, the lights are dim on the street, and i have to get closer. i keep walking, scared out of my mind.
to my luck, the window was down. hes awake. hes looking up. he turns his head at me, and we make eye contact. i’ve never been more happy to see a man in his car reading his bible, alive.
