Sutro Heights No. 2

Years ago, I found myself wandering in a neighborhood park. It was at the edge of the city, in a corner I hadn’t explored yet. I had just come up from the beach, where lazy summer sunlight entertained the crowds at the beach.

In front of me, a set of empty sandy stairs climbed past an exuberant growth of joyful coastal flora. There were mixed nasturtiums of tumbling red and gold, aeoniums with their radiating green leaves like large flower petals, towering echiums with their enormous cones of purple blossoms, spiny agaves with their long fleshy green leaves, and countless others I couldn’t name. From where I stood, I couldn’t see what lay beyond the curve of the stairs. So I took the first step to see where they led.

The stairs climbed higher than I expected. The hill had seemed a lot shorter from below. I passed ice plants bathing in pure sunlight and long, untrimmed grasses waving in the wind. Bleached wooden posts and rusty fence cables lined the path. My throat was starting to burn. I kept my eyes on the stairs and noticed the sand giving way to firmer ground.

When the air around me cooled, I looked up to find myself under a canopy of pines and coastal trees. I gave my eyes a moment to adjust from blinding sunlight to cool shade. A few more steps up, and the path meandered past fallen branches and past a bend. And then I noticed the westernmost houses of the Outer Richmond. A rooftop peeked just beyond a rickety fence. The wooden slats were little more than a strange silhouette against the bright sky, but I could tell they were coated in a mix of peeling paint, moss, and blooms of lichen. Succulents and coastal flowers were happily spilling out along its base.

The path wasn’t as empty as I thought it was. At one point, laughter rose in the air, and I instinctively drew into the shadows closer to the fence while a couple passed by with beach towels and a grocery bag. After they passed, I turned back to the view. Here and there, I could see a glimmer of the ocean beyond.

I’ve revisited the park a couple of times since moving back to the area. But I haven’t checked to see if this little patchwork corner still looks the same.