Harold Leaves Home
Harold looked out the 8th floor window of the old tenement building.
A bulldozer menaced from across the street, threatening a brand new
strip mall with outlet clothing stores and a BOGO FROYO shop.
It was tricky.
Harold loved frozen yogurt and designer fashion at bargain prices,
But, he also loved his home.
The old peeling paint was deliciously rotten.
The clanking radiators made winter beautifully unsettling.
The windows were rickety and slammed shut unexpectedly.
It was perfect– too perfect to destroy.
Harold thought of his human hero, Louis Sullivan, and sighed,
“it’s true, form follows function.”
But the days were dwindling down.
Most of the humans had moved out.
And all of the other monsters that had lived at 18 West Vinegar Street
had gone their separate ways.
Some hid between the mattresses of children’s beds as they slid into moving vans.
Some decided it was time for a career change; many became dentists and substitute teachers.
Some retired to Miami.
But Harold – Nearly Homeless Harold – was the last monster tenant in
this old, dilapidated tenement and he wondered what the future had in store for him.
Humming a little monster lullaby, Harold placed his toothbrush safely
between his bathrobe and his best tuxedo, then sat on the old suitcase to squeeze it shut.
He took one last look in the rusting mirror, opened his favorite creaky door, and set off…
2 comments
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Maria McCullough
November 1, 2012 at 3:17 am //
I hope the best for Harold
Erica Elam
November 14, 2012 at 7:55 pm //
Ahhh, Harold is like me!