Kiwi

The world had gone still. Where once, the world was filled with the sounds of rumbling engines accompanied by a choir of footsteps with the supporting notes of human interaction, there was just silence now. 

The insistent noise was loudest just before everything quietened. Every living thing left, certainly trying to escape some awful blaring voice that kept repeating the same strange words in a loop that stopped only when the machinery gave way. 

With them, the inhabitants of the city took what made this small city a paradise. Not just the music but the movement as well. The colors went later from a lack of upkeep. Whatever was left of the urban landscape, ivy and vines crawled over each surface, Nature slowly reclaiming its rights. Vehicles with windows broken by branches, streets full of deep cracks from roots springing upward, signs and posts laying flat on the ground because of strong winds, nothing was spared. Almost nothing.

Among the chaos, a single source of light still competed with the sun, whose bright colors kept turning on and off in perfectly timed intervals. This rival was a simple traffic light, still finding ways to function when it hadn’t been needed in a long time.

It had the same routine as it always did. Same as the day it was first put into action. Same as the day it all stops. Rain or shine, bright daylight or complete darkness, busy days or quiet times, the instructions never changed, the timing never faltered. Why would it now? Sooner or later, those same lights will be needed again. It had to keep working. It didn’t matter that leaves and rats were the only witnesses of such hard work and dedication. It did bother the traffic light that its signals were so disrespectfully ignored by both entities. At least, its insults will forever fall on deaf ears.

It always hated that. The disrespect. Why put rules and infrastructures in place if they will be disregarded? Humans, whether on foot or wheels, always created the most chaos by not following the rules. It had enough time to see all kinds of commotions, big and small, that could have easily been by listening to it or its colleagues. 

Then again, it longed for that. For those nights full of lights and movement and cheers and horns. Anything to break that silence spell that befell on its beautiful town. It would endure much more than idiots and chaos if it meant the end of this stillness. 

Even the idea of kids sticking some stupid doodle on its pole seemed more appealing than a wind that carried a calm devoid of life. A void not even strong enough to blow away the dust that dulled its gorgeous dark green to a yellowish gray. And that bastard sun did nothing but fade its color further. 

It could wait. It did wait. It was built to last, after all. Soon enough, everything would go back to the way things were and maybe humans would have learnt their lessons and be more careful. It just had to wait. 

On rare occasions, the silence was broken by the loud sound of a car’s alarm. Each time, the lights were at the ready to accomplish their human-given task. Every time, that enthusiasm was met with nothingness. 

It was unnerving to be so useless. To have a mission to fulfill yet no reason to do so. Previously, the feeling only crept up when it was ignored and that led to a tragedy. Now, it was paired with the quiet, like a ghost haunting it. 

But each day felt longer than the last. And the nights all looked the same. The stars sure were a new sight but the billboards changed every week so they didn’t grow as tiring. Was there still life somewhere? Was it some sort of mean joke that had gone for too long? Perhaps had they forgotten to turn it off in their hurry, unlike all the other traffic lights around it. 

The reality that it may not see the end of this hell wasn’t lost on it. Many times did it think about turning itself off to preserve power for when the world would back on its feet. But what if it didn’t turn back on then? Could it turn back on on its own? No, too much thinking. It had a job to do and somewhere, somehow, someone needed it to do it. Still, the idea of rest sounded appealing. 

Lost in its dilemma, it almost missed the steady rhythm echoing closer and closer,  like an old friend in some distant memory coming back to catch up on the years that passed. Perhaps it was just that, a memory, a representation of its hope invading its head. But hope didn’t help, not in a situation like this. 

And then it stopped. The silence was louder than anything ever was. The red light flickered slightly but its timing was kept firm. It would not falter now, it didn’t falter then. 

When the green light finally turned on, it seemed the world stopped moving. No wind blowing away leaves, no critter scurrying away. Not even a piece of trash dared to tip over. It was all in its head. Too much thinking. 

A step. Then another. The street echoed with a sound it thought it had heard all too much. Closer. And closer. A song of steady, lazy rhythm that commanded attention simply for existing. Louder. And louder. The unrecognizable crossing lines were likely having to restrain themselves to not jump into the air for being used as they were intended. 

Someone crossed the street. Some human on foot followed its command when it would have been faster to ignore them. Their steps weren’t even hurried! Someone was back in town at last!

It had to be a sight, seeing a single structure still running on electrical power. This small ghost city still held promise and those lights were the proof of that.