The Lure of the Passageway
It wants you to explore
There’s something special about alleyways. They speak of possibility. Wend your way along those cobbles or stone slabs, and what will you find?
I traveled to Barcelona with fellow art students when I was 18. Packed like sardines for what seemed like an age, we longed to clamber from the coach that was our prison.
And when we emerged, worse for wear and bleary-eyed, excitement filled my bones. The streets were full of nooks and crannies. Passageways called to me from each direction, and I ached to explore.
The prize that waited along every path differed from the last. A sweet-scented orange grove, pungent and ripe with life. Or an obscure art gallery hosting an array of fabulous paintings and sculptures lay in wait.
My memories hold a cacophony of sounds. The click-clack of hooves. Violin strings pining for a lost love, followed by the clink of coins in an open case. Laughter, quarreling lovers, and footsteps on cold stone take me back to winding paths.
Flashes of color greet me as I recall that visit too. There is a gold and cerulean sunset on canvas carried by two brown-skinned young men with their shirt sleeves rolled high. A tabby cat as he winds himself around my ankles like water twines about a rock.
And my fascination with alleyways continues. I stop the car and walk along them, even when my journey ought to end at a predestined place. The lure of the passage is stronger than the need to shop for groceries or visit the shoe menders.
Who knows? I might discover a mad poet that recites his words among ancient tombstones. Or a fascinating elderly woman, her hair in a bun, who asks me to sit with her and drink tea poured from a china teapot.
The fragrance of spiced coffee could float my way, or the smell of a fresh white loaf, straight from the bakery, may assault my willing nose if only I make my way through the narrow gap that leads to opportunity.
Bridget Webber writes articles for magazines and websites; she often ghostwrites for professionals who can’t spare the time to pen compositions. She’s written poetry eBooks and is featured in several leading publications.