"I wish I'd get out of this basement already, but I want to wait. Back in the old place,
There was an older man with one hand who would walk to church every sunday. The church was across the street from my parent's apartment. Since I was a boy I'd wake up early and watch the man walk up the sidewalk. He didn't smile unless it was cold as he always wore a suit coat because he always hid his stub in his front pocket.
In the bible, it says that if you believe that one day, after you die, you'll be given a new body. I never went to church. That man was my church. I'm not sure why, I guess I should say, I'm not sure which church you'd consider me to belong to.
The first day I watched him walking on the sidewalk was the day the teenagers on their bikes ran into him and he fell. One of the boys went to help him up and whether the cut was new and he wasn't used to his deformity I'm not sure but the man offered his stump to the boy who got scared. The boy pointed at the man and said something I've tried not to remember.
The man got up and ran to his refuge in the sanctuary of the church. That was the last time I saw the man take his stub out of his front pocket. Occasionally he'd wave with his hand, but only if it were cold. He'd wear the suit on the warmest days and often looked pained and envious of those in comfortable clothing, holding hands, taking calls while drinking their coffees, riding bikes.
After we moved I'd still get up and go across the street to watch the man walk to church. It was something I always needed.
I've been in this basement for some time now. Every so often I hear the old woman stirring upstairs but I'm never really sure if its her or god as the thunder here really booms. There's a window that I look through every so often as I plot some sort of escape. I've seen plenty of people that I've hoped haven't seen me.
I saw a woman with one leg, walking to the Church that's across the street from whichever place I'm at. She was wearing a formal dress that went down below her knee and of her truncated leg. She "walked" with crutches and disdain.
I want to stay until "Sunday" or whenever there's another Church service and see if this woman comes back. I've been thinking a lot about all of this but everything I've come up with seems pretty unlikely.
I hope I can write again soon,
-A.J."
