If not for the ability to mask one's presence, the bridge below would have been filled with gawkers. Some shouting words of encouragement, while others felt the need to taunt, screaming jump, using this as a platform to purge the frustrations felt in their own lives. Officials would've had to beat back the crowd of spectators so they could do their jobs.
The solitary figure cast a silhouette in the evening sky similar to that of Rodin's The Thinker. The silent observation and meditation of the figure was almost eerie, especially when surrounded by a bustling city such as New York.
This perch allowed for not only a spectacular view of the city below but also a place to disconnect and recharge. A vantage point, somewhere to absorb the sounds, music and life that made the city the gem it was beneath the thick layers of dirt, grime and cynicism.
Raising his head from his hand, he looked out over the waters that once ran clean so many years before. Now they bustled with boats, and floated the litter, tossed aside by those who gave the water little thought.
Closing his eyes against the glare as the sun moved lower in the sky, preparing to create the lengthening shadows down on the street. Those same shadows made some cringe as they saw them coming, gathering their loved ones close and shutting the doors and windows keeping the shadows and the unsavory it contained at bay. While yet another group seemed to wait almost impatiently for the darkness.
The sunglasses he wore reflected the bright orange orb in the sky as his other senses were called into play, his need for silent meditation coming to an end. His skills and vantage point above the city allowed him to tune in and tune out different things as simple as if channels on a radio. He visibly cringed as he heard an off note from a child taking music lessons, but the laughter at the mistake that followed seemed to smooth over the musical mistake.
For years, so many he'd long since stopped counting, he'd had the ability to listen in as the greatest musicians in the world graced the city with their presence and talents. He soon found that with these great talents came jaded people. Those who felt they were above so many, they were honoring the common, something he felt tainted their work, for himself at least.
Tilting his head he smiled, hearing the clear innocent tones as a local children's choir practiced. Their voices untrained yet pure and ringing true as if a gift from heaven with their enthusiasm and happiness. Shaking his head he didn't laugh when he heard the whispered laughter from a few when the young pianist hit the wrong note as the group sang.
These were the moments he enjoyed the most, the chance to find the untarnished, those who've yet to develop a cloak of importance, distrust and disenchantment with life in general.
Lowering the leg he'd propped his wrist across while lost in thought, he ran his hands down the denim covered thighs, wiping his hands as if removing the layer of solitude he'd sought from his vantage point.
Slipping forward, he dropped, arms reaching out to his sides, head thrown back enjoying the rush of the wind, as he descended the hundred or so feet to the foot path of the bridge beneath him.
Walking slowly, removing himself from the large groups that walked at a clipped pace, hurrying to get where they were going, he waited. Stepping into the deeper shadows he emerged, visible to those around him. He smiled casually when one man jerked his head up, sensing potential danger when he suddenly found himself beside such a large imposing figure of a man.
Silently he had to admit he liked the general populations reaction to the physical persona he'd become. Taller than average at six foot five, broad shoulders stretching the upper regions of the worn tee shirts he loved wearing to their limits. He'd once thoroughly loved the female rush of hormones when they eyed his trim hips encased in lose fitting jeans that seemed to be held low on his hips by sheer will, but over the centuries that had also changed.
Turning from the main street and its population he smiled softly hearing the muted sounds of haunting music ahead of him. This must be a new routine he thought as he moved closer, he sounds becoming louder. A few more turns and he'd be at the small plaza type area where the local police allowed street dancers and musicians to gather, showing their talents and allowing passers by to tip those they found enjoyable.
He knew without a doubt he'd find Ursula as the owner of this unusual music, what style of dance she would be demonstrating he wasn't sure yet. Stopping after rounding the corner he smiled when he saw her.
The lithe lines of her body twisting and moving as if flexible beyond belief as she danced some new contemporary style to the music escaping the small scratched up boom box she used. Her hair was pulled back tightly, captured in a tiny bun surrounded by a matching swatch of fabric he knew she'd saved from the outfit she'd created.
Pushing away from the wall he moved closer, his eyes moving over the crowd quickly gauging their acceptance and reaction to the young girls' performance. Stopping near the now dry fountain in the center of the area, he sat along its edge, winking at her when she briefly met his eye. He couldn't contain the laughter that her smile caused when she saw him.
Ursula knew that as she saw the sun lowering in the sky that before the shadows reached across the plaza to her area that he'd appear, he did every time she came to perform. It had become an unspoken tradition since she'd began sneaking out of the home after school when she was not quite twelve that he'd be walking her home to ensure her safety. This was one of the only reasons that Sister Katherine didn't do as she'd threatened many times, to lock her in her room.
As the music ended she lifted her head from its place on her extended knee, standing she bowed with a flourish to those who'd been watching her. She thanked those who dropped change or small bills into the vintage hat box she used to both carry her radio and also collect any tips people felt good hearted enough to give her.
Wiping sweat from her face she laughed as a young business man sorted through a small handful of bills he'd pulled from his pocket.
"Any and all is a help Sir," she said with a huge smile, flashing the sparkling braces she now wore. "I'm saving my money to go to Julliard one day, that is just incase my grades don't help me with a scholarship," she giggled.
Stepping closer to the young business man she glanced toward her silent self appointed body guard. "I can only encourage you to be as generous as you can," she said her voice dropping to a whisper. "Being a young African American woman means there are times I have to pay for my protection," she said nodding her head slightly toward his silent figure sitting watching her.
Knowing what she was doing, he laughed loudly, making the young business man jump, startled.
"Don't let the little imp make you think you need to pay for her 'protection'," he said pushing himself up to walk toward the pair. "Ursula, if I were to tell Sister Katherine what you're doing she'd have you cleaning the rectory for a month without a break," he smiled at the young girl who stuck her tongue out at him.
"Will five dollars be enough?" the man asked, his voice clearly demonstrating the discomfort he was feeling.
Stepping forward, his hand falling gently on the young man's shoulder, he felt the rush of unease leave him. "I can assure you this little urchin, is working toward her dreams of attending Julliard. But if her grades are as she promises the Sister's and I, she could use any additional money she earns for lessons to refine her styles before auditions later this summer," he assured the man, shaking his head as he watched Ursula huff to put her things away for the walk home.
"My sister had dreams of becoming a ballerina, but she hurt her leg playing soccer and now she's attending college to be nurse," the young man said as he dropped the five in the hat box before Ursula closed it.
"Keep practicing and I hope you make it into Julliard. I'll come by a few times a week and if you're here I'll help the cause," he said with a wave before joining the flow of foot traffic leaving the darkening plaza area.
He watched proudly as she picked up the litter that had been dropped in the area she thought of as her own when she performed. Smiling when she turned, rolling her eyes at him, they began the walk to the home run by nuns that she's lived in since she was almost five.
"When are you going to stop trying to use me to force more money from people?" he asked not even glancing down at her as they walked through the darkening streets. "Better yet when did you come up with the plan of strong arming people into tipping?" he asked, stopping in his tracks waiting for her answer.
"Gabe do you have any idea what it's like to be a young black woman?" she asked, not stopping long enough for him to answer, only nod. "You can stop smiling at me also I know that one was dumb," she laughed. "But I'm trying to tell you that not only being black but also living in a home run by the Nun's cause I ain't got no family, isn't going to make me getting into Julliard any easier," she said with a heavy sigh.
"All them girls in the ballet class you got me into act like they feel sorry for me," she said quietly. "I don't want nobody feeling sorry for me or that they gotta give me nothing," she snapped suddenly. "I'm as good as them," she said, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye even though she fought to contain them.
"Ursula, you're fourteen years old, how is it someone so young could seem to be bearing the worlds weight on her shoulders?" he asked soothingly, kneeling beside her, wiping the tear from her face.
"I don't ever want to hear you say that you don't have a family," he said lifting her chin gently. "Do you have any idea how hurt Sister Katherine and Sister Eloise would be if they heard that? Not to mention how Sadie and Maria would feel if they thought you didn't think of them as your sister's," he reminded her.
Shaking his head when she opened her mouth to reply, stopping her. "I want you to spend next week looking for a definition of a family that says all members 'have' to be biologically related, all the same ethnic background and they all have to look alike," he said chuckling when she rolled her eyes.
Standing he took her hand, starting to walk toward the small church and home he'd taken her to when he'd found her hidden in an alley when she was a tiny little girl.
"Maybe you'd preferred that I'd given you over to the state system when I found you in stead of taking you to the Sister's," he said quietly, as if thinking aloud. "I thought I was doing something good. Especially when I saw how tightly you hugged Sister Katherine when she told you that you'd 'come home' when she saw you."
"You don't fight fair do ya?" she said with a forced sigh. "I love the Sister's, you know that. Heck I even kinda love the annoying boys, but yeah Sadie and Maria are my sisters," she smiled up at him as they rounded the corner, heading down the street toward her home and family.
