Can you picture it?

I want to paint a picture for you of something I saw recently that just stuck out so vividly in my mind... I want to share it.



Picture yourself in the driver's seat of a car. You are on a freeway shortly after rush hour. The sun has set recently, the natural light is just dark enough to need headlights, but just light enough for them to not do much good. You are in the middle of a city, so there are street lights shining their orange glow down on the road infront of you. It's raining slightly, just enough to need your wipers. You signal to turn off the freeway and head home. As you drive away from the city, the light from the streetlights fade, but the light from the tail lights infront of you begins to brighten. The headlights coming at you become more visible. Your own headlights have turned into beams, and not light clouds of light. The closer you drive towards home, the fewer cars you meet. You turn off of the main road, and onto a smaller road. Once again you turn, and soon you are the only car on the road. It's dark now. The rain has stopped, you remember to turn off your wipers. You flick on your highbeams. Looking out of the window, you see whisps of cloud overhead, and beyond them, you see the first stars twinkling far, far away. The moon is rising to your left now. It's half-way there. The craters that make up it's face are clear and dark. Watching the road ahead of you, you see the flick of animal eyes cross the road aways ahead of you. It was mid-height, could have been a small deer, or a large dog. By the time you come up to the place, there is no sign of the animal. The air is still except for a small breeze how and then that blows dead leaves across your path. It's very quiet except for the sound of your breathing and the hum of the car. You make your last turn onto a dirt road, the final leg of your trek home. The bright headlights illuminate all the leaves along the side of the road, and every pebble and pothole in the road. Finally you come to your own driveway, turning in, over the knoll, and around the bend, you see the light in the yard, welcoming you home. You turn off the highbeam lights, and pull into your parking slot between the truck and the van. Turning off your lights and the engine, you sit and listen to the silence for a minute. Gathering your things, you climb out of the car and into the chrisp, cool night air. Above you the stars are shining brightly, you feel like you could be swallowed up into their brilliance. The moon winks from behind the trees at the edge of the yard. There are rustlings in the woods far to your right, probably a lone squirrel or owl. You walk to the door, turn the key, and there you are. Home.

Did you see it?