His underside is cold from the water on the ground
His hands are rough and purple from his years of life on the street. Around him, cars rush and people idly pass him by. His worn blue bomber provides just enough insulation to get him through the chill of the night. His unshaven beard and tired eyes point towards the grey cement on which he sits.
Another man exits the building across from him; out through the clear glass doors. As his clean dress shoes go from intricately laid tiles to the rough concrete sidewalk and then the black tar of the road, and the sleek black suit is exposed to the frigid air of the outside, a look of discomfort etches itself on his chiseled face. He makes eye contact with the dark figure across from him and the grip on his briefcase tightens. He looks away and tries to ignore the man in the blue jacket.
As the man in suit draws ever closer, the man on the ground produces a cup and utters
“Any spare change?”
The man in the suit knowing full well he has a wallet stuffed with change simply walks by, disappearing around another office building, without a second thought. Ignoring him as if he were another piece of trash strewn about the downtown streets.
The man in the jacket looks up at the beautifully designed building that the other man had just left. A tear trickled down his face, trying to resist the cool night air’s temptation to freeze solid right there on his face.
Every day men and women passed him by on their way to work in this monumental construction, so beautiful it belonged in a museum. In contrast to its surrounding of uninspired concrete cubes with just enough light that you could see the dull coloring of gray and brown But this building was magnificent. with it’s Castilian inspired glass window patterns covering every inch of its face. Its spiraling floor design lifting it high into the clouds above any other building in the city. This night, it glowed like a beacon from heaven, that could lead you into the skies, once shining so bright you could see it from miles away.
Why would anyone pay attention to him, if they would look at that instead? But every design that they admire every day, every detail that they take in of this building flowed from the mind of this broken uncleanly man sitting at its base.
Although his body has fallen from the look of grace he once had, his mind has stayed sharp. He forces gaze from his work of art and forces his watery eyes shut. As he does his mind flashes back and he remembers everything. Every detail of every design: The Hexagonal granite tiles supported by a steel underfloor, lining every one of the 90 floors. Very floor rotated slightly from the last, offset by 4 degrees giving it a full rotation at the top level; and the entire design encased in a layer of class that twirled around with the floors, like a snakes scales forming to the folds of the flesh underneath. Books of blueprints flooded his mind. The man remembered when it had been completed and the pride he felt as he looked upon his greatest creation. He sat upon everything he had ever wanted. It was only months later; he was sitting in his bosses office as his stomach curdled.
“…We’re having financial problems….nothing personal…were going to have to let you go…”
“I wish you luck in your job hunt.”
He looked everywhere, applying at every architectural design firm in the city, but to no end. Another day, another resume, another rejection.
As his bank account dwindle as his hair got longer. First, he lost his phone, then his car, and finally his home. Unable to pay the bills, the bank took everything from him, and still no job. He couldn’t afford razors, so he grew a beard. Suits didn’t keep him warm, so he traded his professional clothes for anything that would keep him warm. His wallet was stolen but that doesn’t matter when you have no money.
He lost everything, everything but his creation. His final work. His building. They would not let him in, so there he sat outside admiring it as best he could from outside. He dreamed of the days when he wore a suit and held a briefcase. When people talked to him instead of pretending he wasn’t there
He dreamed of when he was
Somebody.