Note: For those who either don't know or don't remember, Rashida is a character I introduced in my story Beginning in the Name of God as Sarah's roommate.
Part V
Tim sits in front of his typewriter like he has so many times in the last few months. A fresh piece of blank white paper sits in the machine, and his fingertips rest on the keys.
A jazz record plays softly in the background, and his pipe rests on the table beside the typewriter.
The words are there. He can feel them pressing around his mind, as if wanting to burst forth.
But Tim is nervous about what he's about to start writing.
Sarah was the one with the vivid imagination after all. This was originally her idea.
Tim closes his eyes, and thinks of Sarah. Her smile, her competitive nature. Her encouragement when he first started writing.
"Don't worry about the details right now. That's what editing is for. Don't worry, Tim. I'm sure you'll do a great job."
His mind drifts back to the memory of his sister on Halloween ten years ago, and Tim opens his eyes again.
He keeps that image in his head, and soon the rapid clickety-clack of typewriter keys fills the apartment.
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From The Gazette
"New traffic light installed just outside Waverly University; community celebrates."
After battling Montgomery County officials for the last four months, the Waverly University community celebrates the new traffic light installed at the intersection of Willard Road and Carson Boulevard, replacing the two-way stop sign that was there previously.
A memorial plaque was also installed into the northwest corner of the intersection, honoring Terrence Campbell, a member of the admissions staff who died three years ago, and Sarah McGee, a student who was supposed to graduate in May who died earlier this spring. Both tragically lost their lives due to injuries sustained in accidents at this intersection. It was finally Miss McGee's passing that served as a catalyst for the campus community to do something about the dangerous crossing just off campus.
"I think Sarah would be really happy to see the new signal," says Sarah's roommate and one of the main petitioners for the traffic light, Rashida Saiwala. "She hated that intersection, but she used it all the time because it was the quickest route to get to her brother's place. I only wish she could be here to see it."
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The last few days have been tough, and he has been unable to write. It has simply been too hard to keep thinking of Sarah. But when Tim looks at the paper and sees the article there, he finds himself smiling, and feeling a little better than he has been.
Sarah would be proud of what Rashida and the rest of her friends had done. He makes a note to himself to make sure to get in touch with his sister's roommate to thank her.
Sitting down in front of his typewriter, Tim glances back at the newspaper that sits next to his computer, and finds it in him to write again. He inserts a fresh sheet of paper into the machine, and once more the sounds of typewriter keys fill the apartment, and words begin to flow onto the page.