MY ENEMY: THE SIDEWALK

A dramatic—yet accurate—retelling of events. In 2019, Daniel and I were walking home. It was close to midnight and we were arguing about something. I stepped off the curb—or, I thought I did. The distance from the curb and the pavement was actually quite low; it felt like mere inches off the ground. However, it was just enough to confuse my foot. I stepped on the space between the curb and pavement. I felt my ankle wobble before it gave way. I fell on the ground. Daniel spun around. "What are you doing?!" he shouted, as if I chose to trip. Just then, a car filled with young men cruised by, slowly. They opened the window and laughed at my misfortune. I ignored them. "Well, get up," Daniel said. I tried. My ankle hurt and I cried out in pain. "I can't!" I was on the floor for a few minutes as we argued about what to do next. Meanwhile, the same car that previously mocked me slowly backed up. This time, the young men had solemn expressions. "Are you ok?" one asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." "Do…