Open Territory

Open Air Shop by Savage Rose

It was a cool summer day of 2007 as I manoeuvred my way across Queen Street. I waited for a young man on his bike, sitting up straight in a navy jacket, to go by. He rode past and I watched him smack without remorse, each and every innocent person he sailed by, whether they stood in his way or not. The majority of Toronto pedestrians are unaware of bike street traffic and I too, have done my share of yelling. But that day, this random assault on bystanders was purely violent aggression and not warranted. I was a witness and not a victim, only because I had let him pass me by before crossing.

Yesterday, I was not so lucky. In the middle of a sidewalk, void of other people, I was punched in the back. My innocent self assumed I was only shoved aside except, as the coward shuffled quickly by, the sharp distinguished pain from his fist could not be ignored . Just like how he only saw me from behind, I could only see, by then, the back of a navy blue jacket, this time on foot, already far in the distance. I am still feeling the hit today and wonder if the sting would hurt less if I had been punched in the face.