Assignement 1-Sketch- A LightHouse in the Sea of Sludge

An assignment for my writing class. Write a short sketch of 400-500 words about an unusual place from your imagination or real life.

                 In every city around the world, there is always one place amidst the grunge and decay of societies more immoral tendencies that stands like a lighthouse, whose illumination for all who witness it, is seen in the place's potential for the resurrection of decency and fellowship of the human spirit.  In the city of Edmonton, the place that I call home, I have found my own lighthouse in the sea of sludge.  The place that I am referring to is called Habesha Cuisine.  Located on an avenue made infamous for being a daily haunt of prostitutes looking to scratch a living off the services of their worn out bodies, a place where drugs are exchanged openly in various bars and alley ways as if they were food, bought and bartered for in a local bazaar of old, Habesha denies these elements of corruption at its transparent glass doors and stands as a glorious temple amidst the ruins.

            Within this faded brick building lies a large room, painted in a fading burgundy color, like blood just beginning to dry up as it loses all sense of moisture and life; with granite tables, jet black chairs, and plush couches to provide a weary body a place of rest and solitude.  People come from all around the city to enjoy a taste of authentic Ethiopian cuisine and smoke hookah- a flavored tobacco concoction encased in a bowl and smoked from a water pipe-made popular in various Muslim and Islamic countries just over the expanse of the ocean.

            In here, you will find a melting pot of all races and religious faiths going about their daily business.  Upon entry, it has become customary to take the time to greet familiar faces with a warm handshake, and a sunny 'How do you do?'  Even friends turned enemies do not show an ounce of disrespect, shaking hands and greeting one another formally for all to see, lest they seek to defile the sanctity of the communal temple that this place has evolved into. In the tranquil setting of Habesha, politics from around the world, religious differences, daily news, and idle banter are discussed with the heat and fervor found in a Latin dance.  Here, one's opinion matters, though your view of right and wrong may not be shared by the most religious or the most immoral. You are heard regardless. In this place you are encouraged to fly, to share your dreams, your aspirations, your hopes, and your fears.

            Habesha is one of the strangest places I have ever had the luck of discovering.  At the end of the day, as I return to the mundane grind of daily work, and witness the struggle of people less fortunate that I in the streets of the city I call home, I am thankful for a light in the fog pointing the way to a sense of unity, humanity, and peace.