💣 Does It Matter? 💣
Mike Kraus
“Does it matter?” Anabelle grabs a handful of gravel from the railroad bridge deck and launches them into the tributary below. Hundreds of small stones make little splashes that are quickly absorbed into the waters of the mainstream with indifference.
“I dunno.” I reply trying to balance on a rail and think at the same time. “Jus’ be nice ta know what I’m gonna do.”
“Ferget ‘bout da future. It doesn’t matter. Ya jus’ gotta think ‘bout whatcha doin’ now.” She lights a cigarette as we head east. “Now’s all dat matters.”
“Dat a Zen-hippie thing?” I ask as we cross over Kennedy Drive.
“Nah.” She takes a long drag and exhales in seeming ecstasy. “It’s a survival thing.”
“What’s that s’pose ta mean?”
“Tell me, whatcha plan ta be doin’ in five years?” Anabelle demands an answer.
“Mmm… Well, I guess I’ll be werkin’ somewhere ‘nd maybe find some girl ta be with. Get some stability so I can ‘grow up’ like everyone else.”
“Okay, where were ya five years ago?”
“Let’s see.” That seems so long ago now. “I was back in Milwaukee werkin’ at da Center ‘nd goin’ ta school.”
“When ya were in Milwaukee, is this where ya thought ya’d be now?” She smiles mischievously, but with sympathetic eyes.
“Uh. Ya know dat answer.”
“Yeah, but I wanna hear ya say it.”
“Well…” I look at Anabelle’s pudgy face to determine how serious she is. Very serious. I quickly pretend I see something interesting in the vacant lots nearby. “I thought I’d be a musician. Tourin’ in our van ‘nd recordin’ an album somewhere fun. Ya know, be a performer ‘nd all.” I smirk at my youthful naivety.
“Whadda ‘bout da girl?”
“We’re not talkin’ ‘bout her.” I bark.
“Okay…” She backs off the question, which is rare for her. I throw a rock at an abandoned factory. “How ‘bout livin’ here?”
“C’mon Anabelle. I get it. No, I didn’t think I’d be back in this town ‘nd sleepin’ in my granpa’s spare room, okay?”
“Whoa, calm down.” She discards unwanted shoplifted goods from her jacket onto the tracks. “Just tryin’ ta prove a point.”
“’Nd what point is dat?”
“It’s point-less ta plan fer da future. I don’t know what I’m gonna do in five years or even next week. So much can happen dat it’s impossible ta predict. I get what I want now. Why should I hafta sacrifice taday? Da future is unknowable. I could be dead tamorrow.”
“If we all lived like we’re gonna die tamorrow, we’d be screwed. Everyone would be hungover ‘nd useless when we wake up with empty wallets. No one would trust us.”
“TRUST!?!” Anabelle laughs with her own twist of evil. “Ya can’t trust anyone. Life’s ‘bout survival of da fittest. It’s all a big game of ‘winners’ ‘nd ‘losers’. We live inna society that considers ‘greed’ ta be a ‘good’ thing. Someone is always willin’ ta take all ya have if they can get ‘way with it. Many do. Ya hafta watch yer back ‘nd commit ta nothin’. Ya survive this world alone.”
“Whadda ‘bout you?” I ask to her cynicism.
“Whadda ‘bout me?”
“I trust you.”
“Ya shouldn’t.” She’s bored again, like usual. “I don’t know where I’ll end up but I’m gonna do what it takes ta survive. Ya’ll never know what I’ll do.”
“Ohhhhh. What crazy thing wouldja do?” Anabelle gives me the stink eye and looks around. Her back is suddenly upright with confidence.
“How do I look?”
“Like a femme fatale.” Anabelle ignores my snarky remark. She skips through a patch of overgrown grass to the cheap hotel/bus station on Schuyler Avenue. I watch her talk to a man leaning against an old beat up luxury sedan and she motions toward me. The driver’s sleeves are rolled up on his grey uniform shirt. His matching company baseball cap sits lazily askew on his large head. After a few moments looking in my direction, he starts playing with his keyring. Anabelle climbs in the passenger side door. The car rumbles and they head north to god knows where.
To read more, please visit: Intro: 🏡 History of Walnut House 🏡: https://readmedium.com/c01d241376bf 1) — 🚶 Ramblin’ Man 🚶♂️: https://readmedium.com/e7e0ea6355ff 2) — 👁Just Don’t See It 👁: https://readmedium.com/c93db0285d52 3) 🍸 Awakening 🍸: https://readmedium.com/b72e7dcbd17c 4) 🎸 Gazed In Wide Wonder 🎸: https://readmedium.com/626ce857b1cd 5) 💊 Tattered 💊: https://readmedium.com/a0422087f4e0 6) 🏭 Warehouse 🏭: https://readmedium.com/31bb79506dee 7) 🍹Little Taste of Grandpa’s Cough Syrup 🍹: https://readmedium.com/135499bc53d8 8) 🍳🥓☕ Breakfast With Anabelle ☕🥓🍳: https://readmedium.com/0839cce6bc47 9) 👾 What Lurks In the Basement 👾: https://readmedium.com/e8e7525f9bcc 10) 🌙 Night Time Is the Right Time 🌙: https://readmedium.com/6f6bbaef1e8e 11) 🖼 Refuge From An Indifferent World 🖼: https://readmedium.com/8ef888cb076c 12) ☠ Skull & Crossbones Memory ☠: https://readmedium.com/3f18f90ac784 13) 💚☕🚚 An Enchanting Evening At the Golden Ticket 🚚☕💚: https://readmedium.com/2f8284be509f 14) 🌭 Gotta Have Some Fun Before Ya Go 🌭: https://readmedium.com/2ca6412ca654 15) ✋ Handsy Hubert 🤚: https://readmedium.com/d7151e07870b 16) 🤵 Fake It ’Til Ya Make It 🤵: https://readmedium.com/f82ade21a44d 17) 🐴📦 Funny Little Box 📦🐴: https://readmedium.com/ea4b2fb0002d 18) 🍕 Tommy’s Pizza, Can I Help Ya? 🍕: https://readmedium.com/4ea3d996da9c 19) 🍺 Dusty’s Saloon 🍺: https://readmedium.com/09d9328ba48f 21) 🥀 Hospice 🥀:https://readmedium.com/c7e330448393 22) 📢 ESTATE SALE! Today 10am-3pm 📢: https://readmedium.com/864c65a8c544
Mike Kraus was born on the industrial shoreline of Muskegon, Michigan. After earning his Fine Arts Degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he attended Grand Valley State University for his graduate degree. From there, he gained varied experiences from the Chicago Architecture Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Hauenstein Center For Presidential Studies, Lollypop Farm Humane Society, and the Lurie Children’s Foundation. And every place he worked, he had his sketchbook with him and found ways to be actively creative. In 2014, Kraus became a full-time artist by establishing Mike Kraus Art. Since then, he has sold thousands of paintings that are displayed in nearly every state and dozens of countries. Currently, Kraus lives in Rochester, New York with his beautiful wife and goofy dog.
For more information, please visit: Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/BrightscapesArt/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MikeKrausArt Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikekrausart LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus
