scrape .. scrape .. scrape .. scrape

The sound jarred me from my sleep and echoed in my ears. I thought it was just a bad dream, so I tried to shake it off and return to my slumber to catch what little sleep I could squeeze out of the morning before duty called.

scrape .. scrape .. scrape .. scrape

I’m more awake now, and I know I’m not dreaming. The sound is real. I fight the rising panic by forcing myself to calm down and think about this rationally. I know where I am. Don’t I? I’m in Vancouver. I’ve been here for four years and one day. I work downtown and ride a scooter. I can see the ocean from my windows. I pay PST and wear yoga pants as formal wear.

scrape .. scrape .. scrape .. scrape

I can’t take it anymore. I leap out of bed and blindly make my way into the living room. Relief floods through me – I AM in Vancouver. What was that sound? It brought a flood of emotions and memories. How many times was I startled out of sleep by that very noise? I never got used to it. The constant, steady scraping – it would end, only for someone else to begin. When I heard that noise, I knew what I was in for. Endless days of brittle cold and frozen eyelashes; bone-deep weariness and an endless lumpy sea of gray ice. Wearing so many layers I can’t count and still losing all feeling in my limbs. Standing at the bus stop for what seems like years, only to have the overcrowded bus pass me by. A barren, frozen landscape to which no life will return until late May if you’re lucky. I peer out the window to a cheerful sea of green, and I am relieved.

scrape .. scrape .. scrape .. scrape

A lone soldier is outside. He is, in fact, scraping his windows; a thin layer of frost has formed and out here, cars do not come equipped with heaters that must be plugged in at night. Once his windows are clear, he drives off towards the ocean. The morning is cold, but it will pass within minutes. Already the frost is melting from the other car windows, appearing as nothing more than morning condensation.

Reassured, I make my way to the bathroom to start my day. I did not wake up in Calgary. I am still in Vancouver. Life is good.