The Void

A light drizzle of rain is falling. No direct, noticeable rays of sunlight are reaching the ground. The trees are casting no shadows on the grass and the trees’ branches aren’t casting any shadows on the trees themselves. It’s a rather dull view, very flat and uninteresting. The sky is a subtle patchwork of off-white and very light gray cloud-cover; it almost looks like one solid color but with a closer look you see that there are different colors. Maybe there are thinner clouds in some places so that sunlight is coming ever so slightly more through those areas than the slightly darker areas.

On the pathway close to me, the bricks are wet with the rainfall and the minimal light making its way through the cloud-covered sky makes a few particular bricks glisten and appear to be a lighter color than the surrounded bricks. The light combined with the water has made this effect where the color value of the bricks is lessoned. I think it has to do with the angle at which I am situated as well. If I moved I think my perception would be different.

As I’ve sat here, the clouds, though still covering the sky, have seemed to thi a bit, making it possible for a little more light to seep through. Now the off-white color dominates the sky and the light gray patches are much fewer.

I feel nervous. Everything is too still, too quiet. And this off-white sky is unsettling, like a big unknowable void.