how to make friends on the street

he was walking towards me, a big guy with wild dreadlocks spilling out of a black down jacket and a deep hood. i've learned to recognize the way someone holds a vape in their hand, but i could barely see the mouthpiece hidden between his fingers. i have this tendency to stare at people, sometimes, and i was looking for earphones or a headset somewhere under his hair, because he was talking, a lot. people talk when they walk alone all the time these days, into some wires attached to a phone, or some device that projects communication through the air.

but then he held out his free hand in front of me, fingers splayed, in the 'stop stop where you are' gesture, and i froze mid-step. 'excuse me, excuse me!' he said urgently. i worried. 'i love your hair!'

my hand went up to my shoulder; i forgot what my hair looked like. i had two layers of hoods; one for warmth, the second for rain protection, which i pulled up around my dreads. they spilled down the front of my chest, almost to my waist. they were much longer than his.

'thanks, man.'

14 February 2018 19:29