I saw him a little ways up the street. The dark of the morning was lifting but the street lights were still on. The cloud cover didn’t help lighten things either nor did the damp drizzle that seemed to cling to everything. The street was wet. Cliff was on the other side of the road walking Mitzy his Corgi. He wasn’t facing me. As I approached, I wondered how I would greet him. I didn’t want to come up from behind and startle him. We were the only ones on the street.
I first met Cliff back in July on my morning walk. It was a little earlier, around 6:30 a.m., as the sun rises much earlier in the summer. I don’t set out until closer to 7:30 a.m. at this time of the year. We’re two days away from December 21st and the Winter Solstice, after which the days start getting longer. It’s become one of my favourite days of the year.
I’d passed Cliff numerous times on my morning walks but only said hello. That morning, I’d stopped and introduced myself and learned Cliff’s name—and Mitzy’s. I remember Cliff saying he wouldn’t forget my name as his father’s name was Douglas. Cliff might be twenty years my senior, maybe more.
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