The glass garage - An ode to Friendship

Steel, steel, wood, glass, steel, steel, the houses cease, the road is crossed and to the park we go.

As the rays of sunlight wrapped around my calves, I was delighted by my choice of beige shorts and birkenstocks. Our shadows steadily passed those of the well-nourished elm trees lining the street. To our left were two blonde boys kicking a soccer ball and to our right, a row of houses. The first house had a grey steel garage door, the second, a black steel garage door, and the third, a well-polished wooden garage door. The fourth house had a glass garage door. The street’s final two houses, one single and the other a double storey, as if siblings dressed by their mother for a family photo, both had silver steel garage doors.    

Through the glass garage we saw the slick body, its beautiful curves, the shiny three pointed star surrounded by silver circle. As my gaze dropped, the number plate caught my eye; 499-999. To its right, you see a larger vehicle, more suited to school pick ups than golf days. It was designed for the off road but its spotless exterior suggested it rarely ventured down gravel roads.

Wealth, class, power, grace and ostentatiousness. The glass allowed these conclusions to be reached. Why else would one have a glass garage door apart from a desire to evoke a specific view of themselves within passers by. Those easily swayed by the superficial would view the garage owner positively due to the garage’s contents while simultaneously feeling mocked, invalidated or inferior; whichever most stingingly reinforce their insecurities that they so desperately hope to obscure.   

On the other hand, a glass garage may say less about the individual and more about the environment. A glass garage suggests the presence of a profound sense of safety, which in turn provides the one with freedom and courage to display their most valuable of goods. Judgement is inevitable however the threat of loss, theft or damage is minuscule. In a more dangerous environment, glass garages are exchanged for burglar proof windows. The house’s content’s obscured from the outside world; its occupants find solace behind bars, away from the judgement of passers by. 

I made a friend and moved from isolation to companionship, from being misunderstood to being accepted, from danger to safety. I removed the burglar proof bars and exchanged the steel garage door for glass. I was free to show what was most valuable to me; my curiosities, my desires, my willingness to conform and my unrealised potential.  

A few months later, no longer ambling along a sun drenched paths, instead, our faces plastered on each other’s computer screens, we talked. We had drifted apart, our communication infrequent but admiration present; or so I thought. I never viewed myself as a variable in your imagination; you were a constant in mine. During our conversation, you mentioned that you thought of me. This filled me joy. The inspiration for that thought; a glass garage. You walked past a glass garage, peered through it and were reminded of the calves wrapped by sun rays, the elms, the soccer ball, the six houses, the ostentatiousness, our friendship. A mundane moment infused with beauty. An inanimate object breathed into life. An enduring human connection formed.    

Shunned, shunned, shunned, accepted, shunned, shunned, the filled chairs cease, time ticks on and to a mind full of joy only some will go.

Themes: friendship , beauty in the mundane and parks

Your turn - Submit a 600 word piece of fiction below based on one of these three themes and a selection will be placed on the blog. Happy writing .