Lydia cautiously checked the parking lot of the library to ensure that no one would witness her nude departure. It would be a shame to be spotted right outside the library after taking so much care to avoid detection while inside of it. All was still and quiet. The world did not seem to care much about her ordeal in the library. She made sure one last time that she had picked up everything. Her backpack, shoes, and hat were all in tow as she stepped out the shadows and made for the sidewalk. There was some light upon her, but not enough for Lydia to worry about. She was getting used to being visibly naked in public as long as she could be reasonable self-assured that no one was looking.
She mentally prepared herself for the zigzagging trek through town. Lydia had walked the roads during the daytime in preparation for this. Approximately ten blocks separated her from her next destination which was the town square. Ironically, this was the least tricky stretch of her route despite being arguably the most urban.
There were shops in this part of town. Law offices, dinner restaurants, antique shops, and other quaint small businesses. However, this also meant that there was a maze of side streets and back alleys for her to escape through. There were plenty of mailboxes, tables, hedges, low-standing advertisement boards, fences, and more to hide behind in case she needed to act quickly. Lydia could feel the press of buildings all around her, any of which could have peeping eyes monitoring her progress. Lydia imagined a stranger spying on her, taking a picture, and sending it to everyone's phone in town to her eternal shame. She would never find out who did it if that happened, not that it would have mattered much at that point.
That was hardly the case though, and Lydia knew it. No one was in town this late at night, neither on the streets nor in the windows. Although she was getting more comfortable with strolling naked on the sidewalk past these familiar landmarks, there was still a big part of her that was be self-conscious about being naked where she should not be. That was the danger, the great taboo, that also made what Lydia was doing so alluring to her.
I need something to shake this off and make it memorable. Something that no one else could ever say they had done.
That was when she remembered the plastic life-sized grizzly bear statue outside the sporting goods store. It was coming up and she had an idea. Checking around the corner of the block, just as she had done with every turn since the library, the statue came into view through the hazy mist halfway down the street on the opposite side. Lydia crossed the empty street and walked down the line of shops toward the statue.
The bear faced the street standing on all fours, mouth opened as if in mid-roar. Lydia ran up to it when she got close enough and bent down beside it. She smiled as her heartbeat quickened. Lydia had not planned for this little stunt but she knew was going to enjoy it. Nothing was coming from either direction. She could just make out five or six blocks to the left and right before the streetlamps and traffic lights dissolved fully into the haze. She stood and jumped onto the side of the bear, clumsily pulling herself up with her right leg.
For a moment, she let herself rest with the front of her body pressed against the cold, hard back of the grizzly bear. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, mounting the statue as though riding it. Lydia shuffled forward and kicked her feet up. She imagined actually riding a live bear through town wearing nothing but a smile. Lydia balled her left hand into a fist and raised it in the air as if signaling an advance. With the other hand, she cupped the side of her face and dared to hushedly cry out a howl of triumph.
I can picture it now. The Bare-Naked Bear Lady: A Local Legend!
That was enough though. It was best not to linger too long. She smiled at having done this crazy, amazing thing, and pulled her left leg over the bear so that she could slip off the statue back onto the sidewalk. Looking around again just in case, she set off once more for the town square. With three more blocks to go, the watch that hung from her backpack beeped.
3am. No more time for games. The halfway point is not far but then I need to make a straight line back home if I want to be back by sunrise.
Lydia decided to take a side-alley approach to the square. It was dark back there, but light enough to avoid tripping over the occasional refuse that littered the ground. There was a bench that Lydia figured was used by employees of nearby businesses on lunch break. She decided to prepare for her town square run in that spot. She removed her backpack and folded it under the bench next the wall. Her hat followed next and then her shoes. Lydia looked at the asphalt and weighed the wisdom of leaving her shoes behind for this one given the roughness of the surface and potential stepping hazards she might encounter.
A deal's a deal. This is what I set myself to doing. Cutting corners would not be fair.
With that thought in mind, Lydia hastened to the end of the alley, around the corner to a café, and bent down behind a table which had been left out overnight. She eyed the town square in the next block over. Standing in the middle like a monolith was a bronze statue of a man in an old-style suit. Perhaps it was the founder of the town, or some important mayor, but despite having lived in the town since childhood Lydia had never thought to find out. For her, it was just the town square statue.
The town square comprised a block in the town's planning grid. There were knee-high hedges that bordered the square against the sidewalk. Within, there were a few pathways that meandered among flower gardens, tall bushy plants, a pavilion in one corner, and, of course, the statue right at the center. The statue, now worn green by time, stood upon a concrete base that rose about four feet off the ground and spread out across five feet on each side of the square base. The statue's right foot stood just ahead of the left and pointed slightly upward, symbolic of the town's resolve to continue ever onward and upwards. That much, at least, Lydia knew about.
She knew that she could not remain crouched naked behind a café table forever. Under that statue's foot was the next key that she needed to get back into her house and back to her clothes. Lydia darted across the street after looking around first for cars. She nearly stumbled and fell when she heard and eruption of laughter emanating from the park. Disoriented, but maintaining her footing, Lydia laid herself flat on the sidewalk behind the hedges on the park perimeter and tried to figure out where the laughter, which was dying down now, was coming from.
She pressed her torso upward in a yoga pose to peek over the bushes. The park had four lamp posts, all equally spaced between the statue at the center and each of the four corners of the block. With their help, she was able to spot a group of people under the pavilion. Now that she was closer, Lydia could hear them more clearly. It was a group of teenagers out for a late-night social hour.
Of course this would happen to me! This is just par for the course tonight..
.
Lydia cursed her bad luck and thought about what she should do. She felt rushed by the fact that, despite being hiding from the group of teenagers, she was on laying on the sidewalk on full display to anyone who happened to drive by. The spectacle of a young, naked woman would undoubtedly garner the attention of the driver, and then the teenagers, and it would mean that Lydia would need to make a quick getaway. Further, it would mean being unable to return to the square which would effectively lock her out of the house naked until she did return.
Deciding on a course of action, Lydia stayed low and crawled down the sidewalk behind the hedge. The concrete on her knees was torture, but the alternative of getting caught was worse. Lydia spotted five teenagers who looked to be either high school seniors or recent graduates. Two girls, and three guys. Suddenly, one spoke loudly:
"Look, you can be a goody two shoes about this but we're just having fun tonight! Who's going to come out looking for us at three o' clock at night?"
Who, indeed?
