A yawn and a sniffle.

The soft pat-pat-pattering of the evening rain draws me out of my reverie. Stealing a glance to the left informs me that half the working world were on their way back home to their trophy wives, adorable children and translucent dreams long forgotten among the cloud breaching sky scrapers of a metropolitan world.

The background noise is extinguished giving way to more hushed tones drawn out from behind desks piled high with books and paper.

My fingers furiously type away, gnawing off the faint sensations of carpal tunnel syndrome. Easily ignored when most of your life is riddled with the tapping of the keyboards and the faint tingling sensations.

You never truly know what goes on in the lives of the people around you. The old man absentmindedly waiting under the pouring rain for a bus at an abandoned stop where no bus is ever seen.

The old haggard lady who sell curry puffs to feed his teenage son's drug addiction.

Or the tiny infant left precariously on a ledge at the end the bridge waiting to die by a mother who never wanted to be.

What are all their stories. Were their lives as interesting as strangers make them out to be?

The soft pattering of rain on the windows continue throughout my reverie. They bring me back from my selfish wanderings.

Ignore the men, women and children outside. Ignore their silent pleas for help. What about each of us individually? Were we that better off?

As I make my way to my car I'm reminded of a a story.

The last pear on earth it was called. Once upon a time, a magician was walking down a deserted road. Much like any other, with gravel and pebbles littering the way. The path was savaged and un-motherly with no shade in sight.

As the Magician was walking, he saw a large tree, that of which bore a pear, a single pear that dangled from an immense height, too far for man, woman or child to reach. A giant maybe, but giants were scarce and it was not a day for giants young or old to be seen under the shades of pear trees.

So as it was, the Magician took refuge under it. The sweltering hot sun was making his head heavy and his feet sore.

After a moment of resting, he looked up at the single pear. It was high up but that did not hide its lush and sweet persona.

Oh how he envied it. He wanted it and if he could not have it, no one could.

to be continued... cuz I have to go home.