Rise & Shine

The cock-a-doodle-do cry of the rooster indicates it’s getting close to sunrise. I check the iPod to confirm this and close my eyes while feeling for my mattress plug. With a hiss, my body lowers to the uneven ground and I lay like this for ten more minutes. Several things run through my head—Day/Month/Date, the last time I took my Larium. Again I go to my all knowing iPod for the answers. It’s still dark and I look from my tent for a sign of someone else stirring. Soon I hear the screech of zippers and clicks of folding tent poles.

First things first, I reach for my sleeping bag sack and stuff my bed within. This raises my heart rate and I know there is no chance for more sleep. Outside the tent, the shadows bang their tin cups in search of food. I regain my focus and grab for the sleeping bag liner that’s been acting as my bed sheet, folding it away with my pajama bottoms.

Light creeps through the tent and I locate my camera, phone, and deck of playing cards to deposit into my day bag. My routine is taking shape. I crouch to take hold of my mat; twisting it towards one tent end and grabbing the straps to bind the roll. Everything I deposit into my duffle. I’m ready to leave my nest. I shake out the remaining debris, break down my portable house, adjust my duffle for one last thing and walk towards the shadows that have turned into friendly faces.