mix tape

I was driving around for quite a while and I finally got sick of the radio. Mortgage commercials and hip hop jams were grating my nerves, so I pushed the "CD/Tape" button and started the cassette that had been rattling in the stereo for weeks. It took a moment, then the hiss, and then my favorite song came on.

 

He had queued it up for me. Taken the time to rewind, fast-forward, rewind, fast-forward this crappy old mix tape to find the exact starting point for this particular song, and then left it there for me to find. Like a golden easter egg or a diamond ring floating in your champagne. Silently lingering, waiting for discovery.

 

I smiled for a minute, sang my tune out loud and then thought... how long has it been waiting like this? When was I supposed to have discovered this little treasure? Instead looking past it every day, walking by without noticing, like a chest of jewels buried deep under ground with no X to tell me where to search.