No Matter What Happens, Start Walking and Don’t Stop
By Penny Rabatsky
Laugh at the “horrors” of darkness.
Don’t do that.
Be as quiet as possible. (e.g., refrain from dragging your heels, lift your bag when the
wheels harshly scrape the ground, breathe through your nose.)
Check behind you. (No one is there, but look anyways.)
Curse the sun for needing another two hours to rise. (You may want to debate why
daylight savings still exists.)
Refocus your thoughts on getting to the intersection. (The street may appear longer; it’s
not.)
Arrive at the intersection.
Turn right.
Wonder where the homeless people are sleeping. (A few are usually here during the day
— hope they are safe.)
Reach the rotary.
Turn left.
Check the time. (You left obscenely early, but check anyway.)
Notice the van with no windows.
Pretend you didn’t see the van with no windows.
Think of the time you and your friend were followed home by a van with no windows.
Keep an eye on the van with no windows.
Watch the van driver carry packages into the indoor marketplace.
Exhale. (Quietly.)
Repeat #4.
Notice a bench next to the river. (That would be an amazing place to write, but this is a
tourist destination. You’ll never be able to sit on the bench, let alone write on it — unless
you stop now. Don’t stop now.)
Spot a man on the parallel sidewalk. (This is a good time to overthink why you did not
call your roommate when you left the house.)
Cross diagonally at the light. (You can be on the correct side of the road quicker.)
Walk behind the man. (This is probably safer than a stranger being behind you.)
Exhale. (Quietly.)
Don’t worry if your suitcase is too big.
Notice you cannot see the man anymore. (Hopefully he went further ahead to the train
station.)
Arrive at the bus stop. (Be sure to avoid the vomit on the ground.)
Wait.
Cross the street.
Check if that bus stop is actually your bus stop.
Cross the street.
Wait.
Repeat #12.
Watch a second man approaching in the reflection of the store across the street.
Resist the urge to repeatedly look over your shoulder. (You risk making eye contact.)
Go to your happy place. (e.g., the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer you
watched last night with your roommate.)
Exhale when the man is gone. (Quietly.)
Watch a third man pass you.
Exhale when he is gone. (Quietly.)
Notice a woman waiting with you. (Be polite when she speaks to you.)
Breathe when the bus pulls up.
Breathe when you stop onto the platform.
Breathe when your credit card gets approved.
Breathe when you sit.
Be thankful your bus was not fifty minutes late like your roommate’s last week.
Text your roommate. (There’s now no need for her to call the police.)
Take a deep breath.
Put on your headphones.
Press play.
Exhale. (This one can be louder.)
In October 2023, I studied different styles of short stories in one of my classes. I had been contemplating for the previous few days what I wanted to write with very little to show for it. I had no topic, and no style preference. On my walk to the bus station at four-thirty in the morning, I told myself what I should and should not do to distract me from my nerves. I realized that the premise could work for a story in list format, so I wrote the first draft on the bus.
Penny Rabatsky is currently a senior at Clark University, majoring Sociology and minoring in Creative Writing. She is looking to publish more of her writing in the coming year, and is in the process of completing the first draft of her novel. Penny is from outside of Boston and enjoys spending time with her dog, learning to cook, going on walks, and doing yoga. After graduation, she will continue her education at Clark in the Community Development and Planning master's program.
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