The garbage collector that never arrived
We were once advised by the people next door that we should only bring our black bags(a.k.a garbage bags) out of the unit if the following conditions are satisfied 1) we hear the standard garbage truck honk 2) we see the garbage truck and the garbage collector in flesh. It was followed by a narration of how the stray cats (oh, feline friends, what did you do?), would wreck the contents of our black bags leaving an unpleasant sight in the street. This was presented as a problem because no one stays at home in the morning of weekdays which means we'll need to pile up our black bags and wait for the weekends.
So there, I found myself at home on a Saturday waiting for a garbage truck. The blue truck that carries the burden and the skeletons of the world. The one that catches the hand me downs, the left overs, the worm infested, the ones we deem necessary.
We have the garbage collector of course, the ones who carry badges of courage. Like superheroes, they do not show a slight fear at the sight of the formidable bags and not to mention, the odor that these bags would exude. The ones clad with dirt and whose only protective equipments consist of gloves and some improvised face mask. As if they had the best white blood cells in the world to combat an impending infection.
I'd wait for the garbage collector every Saturdays. While he would comply, most of the time, there was this one time when he didn't. He didn't show up, like we're suppose to meet but he ditched me.
Because there comes a point in your life when all you need is that one garbage collector. The ones who cleans up the clutter in your little apartment before the rodents and the invertebrated creatures called worms feast on them
It's like waiting for someone to pick up the ugly part in us, throw them somewhere else for other people to see the better picture, the better slice, not the rotten side of the fruit. Like waiting for someone brave enough to un clutter your mind and embrace your imperfections.
And when he/she doesn't arrive, we just have to be brave enough to pick up the garbage bag.
