A walk in morning

 When I stepped out for my morning walk the other day I could realize that it is always darkest before dawn. A dense fog engulfed the air, reducing visibility to the bare minimum. A lady walked past holding her black doggie in lease. I could barely see it as it snipped past me drooling over the ground, scratching the ground as if digging for gold. 

The line of pine trees ahead of me looked tall, dark and handsome, a la waiting as Knights-in-Shining-Armor for dreaming girls. The mild early morning breeze swayed the tree branches. To me they looked like lummox giants waving their King Kong sized arms at me.

As I was done with couple of rounds inside the community, the mild morning Sun was trying to force its way through the thick fog pervading the ground, same as a spectator tries to break through the crowd to take a peek at a celebrity. The near full moon on the grey western sky seemed to be smiling mockingly at Sun's struggle. The poor, dimming street lights were looking at the sky, enjoying the the celestial rivalry between sun and moon.

Couple of early morning commuters were trying to look through the dense, white, misty dust with their bright headlights on, like a shy girl looking through the curtains at her perspective beau. The blinking traffic red light near our Community entrance appeared like a large, bloodthirsty Vampire's eyes winking at me. The distance chimney of the house on the hillock resembled some castle in the misty mountains.

It was slowly starting to get brighter, as crimson sky painted the eastern horizon which the fog could no more hide. Chirping little birds crisscrossed the sky as an array of Pelicans passed by cawing "PAON PAON". Far above in the sky two commercial jet liners crossed over, painting it with a thick white tailgating strip, forming a gargantuan X sign on the early morning sky.

Just before I took my last lap, a gray cat crossed my path. I looked around to make sure that no one was noticing me before I took seven steps backwards and resumed my walk. In India in general and particularly in Odisha where I am originally from, a cat crossing the path is considered inauspicious and harbinger of bad luck. It is believed that taking a few steps backwards can mitigate the evilness. Old habits and superstitious beliefs die hard, hence followed my reflex action. Cat may have the luxury of 9 lives, I only have one.