Yellow Raincoat

One

The persistent sound of the air conditioning in the bland florescent office hums loudly. Pens clicking, legs tapping, the erratic and exasperated sighs. A typical gloomy office, with middle aged men and woman who are wasting their lives away. Too scared to follow their dreams, missed their chance, had kids, met someone, too broke, or any other excuse they have to be in this job, in a rainy city, a city almost as gloomy as the people in it. It was all just so typical. Bland, boring, basic, god do I need to go on? The ever dreary and dull Chicago. 

Now don't get too switched up, of course Chicago is a big beautiful city with flashing lights and interesting people, but the rain and the crazy yet cliche stories of the washed up musical stars, do get rather monotonous and common. It's awful sad watching the dreams flood out of the young 20 year old with so much hope. Thats maybe just what the city does to you. The real world. I mean hey, we can't all be stars, right?

For people like Samuel Consworth, they have just come to terms with it. Living in a studio apartment, alone, at 23, was surely good enough. The same boring job, with the same florescent lights, for four years now. Even though, he told himself it was only temporary. A big dream for a small and simple man.

Then there's people like her, and utterly and consistent bright light. She almost represents joy. or maybe you associate the color of her coat with joy. A bright yellow raincoat. She shows up one day out of the blue. Its a surprisingly sunny day, yet she walks in wearing the bright yellow raincoat. Every single day for a whole year, she wears the raincoat. Sam doesn't know her name, how old she is, what she does working there, or anything about the girl. All the lonely man knows, is that she is the one happy part of his life, and every time he sees the color yellow, he thinks of her.

Surely, the coat means not near as much to her as it does to Sam. Just a coat she liked the color of. Or maybe it was a gift, from a friend who was rather cheerful. A boyfriend? sister? Sam runs through scenarios of the simple coats past everyday. An awfully odd thing to do when it comes to a girl you've never spoken a word to. 

Not only does he think of the coats past, but of the coats future. What if she stops wearing it? What if it gets a horrible stain? What if she inevitably ends up like the rest of the people at the office, more specifically, Sam.

Little does he know. The girl is nothing like him. He has nothing to fear. Yet he wouldn't know that because he can't muster up enough courage to find out his coworkers name.