The Nice Thing About Strangers
Creative Non-Fiction Short Stories. :) Travel, Oldsters, Love, and Compassion.
Morning Routine: Vienna
A woman on her balcony turns her back to the street and raises her arms in a wide V overhead. She stretches at her reflection in the balcony windows. She reaches for the sky again, twice more, then bounces in a set of jumping jacks, her arms up and down, her perfectly styled bun unmoving. She wears a long sleeved black shirt and observes her lean leaping frame in the windows, quitting after a brief, invigorating set.
She turns to face the street and delicately lifts a white mug to her lips. A moment later, she replaces the mug with a toothbrush and cleans her teeth overlooking the street. From time to time, she spits into the boxes of plants and flowers that line her elegant balcony. She sips from the mug, brushes, and spits. Over and over.
I spot her from below, standing on the platform as I wait for the U4 subway train. During the jumping jacks, I rifle through in my bag for my notebook and pen. As I scrawl her morning routine, a couple to my left gaze up to see what I see, step a bit to the right to get a better view. An old man who fails to read over my shoulder finally looks up to see for himself. We spend five minutes waiting for a delayed train, watching the thorough public toothbrushing. Unaware of her audience, the woman moves inside. As her balcony door closes, our train arrives and we go our separate ways.
–Vienna, Austria
…balcony changed to protect the innocent.
The Nice Thing About Strangers 
Imagine if every balcony owner in the building had a separate routine. It seems so interesting that this one person chooses to conduct her morning routine in full daylight while the rest of us would rather hide in our bathrooms and kitchens. That makes her even more intriguing . . .
Really enjoyed that – thanks
Sure thing! Thanks for the loyal readership! 🙂
Wow, what fine talent you have. Elaborating such mundane things and making it worth the read. Fabulous.
Thanks for the kind comments. I seem to have a knack for taking note of the mundane! I think that’s why my neighbors were so curious. “Why write about that?” So it goes. Thanks again!
Yeah, why would you write about that? hahaha
I enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for visiting my blog.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Enjoyed reading 🙂
Thanks so much! I loved watching it unfold–or extend and stretch, as it were.
How very interesting! I greatly anticipate my return visit to Vienna.
This woman made my week! I wonder if my neighbors at the station told the story too…
I bet! I’m sure they did!
Reblogged this on The Nice Thing About Strangers and commented:
A big day, mulling a few different stories. In my indecision, we’ll take a trip back to Vienna…
What a moment in time. How precise. I really love your writing.
Thanks so much! I love it when the universe opens up for a perfect little story! 🙂
The universe seems to open up a lot for you in that case!
as always my dear: it was very very interesting and I enjoyed reading! Thank you:)
Vielen dank! Thank you for stopping in for a story! 🙂
Vienna – A favorite city – you do her and her people fine justice.
🙂 Thank you so much, Sheri! I loved my time in Vienna, though I don’t miss those long, gray winter months!
These little details of human behavior are so fascinating. Very evocative! And she didn’t know she was being watched. (By the way, cleaning your teeth outside the house seems to be a common habit in Jamaica, especially among young men. It has always puzzled me)…
Perhaps I shall also clean my teeth outside…actually, I bet the HOA people have rules about that. 🙂
I wouldn’t be surprised!