Page 68 - My Home on the Earth

Turning right into the last alleyway, she saw the overhead dual carriageway looming in the distance. Another half an hour and I’ll be through the underpass and on my way, she thought. Approaching the underpass in the opposite direction, she noticed a car coming towards her. Rather than suffer another splash of filthy water, she stopped to let it through. Unbelievably, the driver flashed his lights and gave way to her. The sound of rolling traffic thundering above was deafening as she pulled on the trolley handles and stepped carefully along the uneven footpath until she was clear of the car. Not many drivers do that, she thought. She carried on walking and the familiar gigantic advertising hoardings loomed ahead. Every word stuck in her throat telling the town of plans to build affordable luxury apartments on this site for everyone.
‘Except me!’ she’d shout loudly as she went past.
Marissa had lost count of how many times she’d walked along Heath Road and at times hated herself for having done what she did.
‘The past will catch up with me one day, but for now I must keep going and plan the future. I could live in one of those apartments if I had a well-paid job, and take holidays abroad like Louisa.’
Behind the advertising hoardings sat a pile of paving slabs. It was her place to rest and catch her breath for a few minutes. Suddenly, her buoyant mood sank like the puddles around her. ‘Why do I kid myself? I’m never going to have the life that I want.’ She hung her head in
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