short report

Man in a coat stopped on the sidewalk below the tracks, staring straight ahead. As the dog colony approaches, he looks up, searching the rafters. There is no train. The night is gathering around him. He – or someone else – has wrapped a ratty maroon scarf under his chin and knotted it at the top of his head as if his tooth hurt. He is very still now, and his eyes are turned up in a kind of prayer. The dogs hurry by, making no eye contact. Their toe nails click on the sidewalk and their eyes catch the glancing headlights of approaching cars. As they turn the corner, the man wanders on, does not look back, or up. This is the end of another day.