Boyd Holbrook
Part I - "Dude Looks Like a Lady"

In the dingy streets of an unknown European city, a nature boy travels. He has lost something of great value to him, and at the absence of his cherished item, great signs of mourning are etched upon his sullen face.
"Hey! Mademoiselle! Looking for this?" The mocking voice of a fat, drunken stranger calls out, and the roaring laughter of his inebriated friends follow the catcall. In his hand, he holds what the boy seeks and shakes it lightly.
He stares at the grinning faces of the culprits, expressionless.
And then he walks away silently, for he believes that his beloved object has now been tainted.
Part II - "Be a Man"

Years later, he returns to that very place.
He is different now -- a stronger, wiser being who does not care for anything but his daily motorcycle journeys to nowhere and everywhere. But today, he stops there, recalling briefly the painful moments of his loss.
Something glimmers in the sunlight, attracting his attention from its place on the ground. When he sees what has drawn his eyes he is shocked, for it is the very object he has trained himself to not worry about any longer. After long periods of weathering its harsh environment, it has lost its shine and faded in color, its poor appearance testifying to the consequences of his cowardice years ago.
He picks it up, for he realizes that he wants nothing more than to heal the wounds that he caused when he abandoned it. He knows that he is a man now, and his duty is to forever protect his beloved -- protect that which was lost but is now found again.
Images from boyd.invisible-cities.net
Felt poetic at 3 am in the morning
