Rough Winds

ROUGH WINDS

It was a brisk morning in the beginning of March, and Samantha was sitting on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. She was surrounded by tote bags.

In a pile to her left was a stack of signs, threatening to blow away in the breeze. She leaned back on her elbow and took a sip of coffee. The marble steps were cold, but the sun was warm. She let it radiate on her face.

March always seemed like a strange time. It roared in like the lion, but left like the lamb, as they say. But this March was stranger than most. It was March Fourth - which sounded more like a command than a date. She was waiting for the oral arguments to begin in what could be the biggest abortion case in a few years. On top of that, there was also news of a flu. Or perhaps it was a cold? Whatever it was –it was circulating the globe like something out of a science fiction novel.

That might have accounted for the quiet morning, but this part of town was often quiet. The buildings were quite far apart, and the traffic was slower. She could hear the trees rustling in the breeze and the birds chirping. Well - some were chirping, while others were squawking most impatiently. In the distance, she could hear the pitter patter of little feet on a playground. Busses were stopping and starting along First Street. And the tulips had appeared – as if out of nowhere.

???????????The trees around the court building were in very different stages of bloom. Some were still bare. The rising sun rendered their branches almost invisible. Others were full and shiny green, with leaves that seemed almost artificial. One tree in particular looked like it had been struck by lightning. Its largest limb reached toward the sky but stopped abruptly. The thick branch sat in a paralysis of possibility.

???????????The buildings themselves were full of these strange juxtapositions. Semi-circular lunettes interplayed at certain rhythms. Light passed through the columns on the Capitol dome at uneven intervals. Even on the SCOTUS building, the columns were at odds with each other. There was one row of real columns, but the rest were just pilaster. The false columns looked as if they had been sanded down to seem more even.

???????????The guards in their crisp uniforms were standing nearby. She could hear them discussing the upcoming baseball season. “The Nats won the world series,” one said. “What could be next?”

The shoes of a passing runner were keeping time with a rhythmic thud. A young girl arrived with her family and grudgingly posed for a photo. “Do I have to…?” She yelled back at her mother. A dog ran by with its owner, while the click, click, click, of its toenails pricked the cement.?

A student group swarmed toward the court in front of her. But they quickly aborted mission and disappeared back down the hill. In the distance, she could hear an airplane laboring to take off. Some ants were climbing on her purse, and she tried to brush them off, without success.

She turned around, and the whole court was visible. The wispy clouds passed swiftly past the Palladian edifice. The red mission-style roof stood out against the bright white sides. “Equal Justice Under Law,” the inscription read.

***