Victoria – Bench by Bench

Market Square

Historic Market Square has entrances on three streets: lower Johnson, Store, and Pandora. If you go down to the lower level, you will find great wooden benches set among shrubs and trees.

Part of the area is covered with a high roof, originally built for a produce market. The wind can come down and circle around here, so it isn’t always as protected as it looks. But it is a charming place.

There are various options for food-a vegetarian buffet, a Mexican cafe, and several take out vendors tucked away in little shops. Look for the large photos and descriptions of the history of Victoria located throughout the different levels.

I sit here in the sun on a wooden bench. Piano jazz is playing through speakers somewhere above me. I look up at the brick walls that surround this space. Balconies define each level. Striped awnings shield the windows. Colourful banners hang from the support posts.

I try to imagine how this site has changed over the past 200 years and the vision it took to refurbish the buildings and create this space. Some people have the capacity to see past crumbling bricks and appreciate the uniqueness of the architecture. To see what is possible. Seeing.

An elderly woman in purple walks by, her hair stacked in grey piles on top of her head. A cane marking her steps. What is she seeing? How is it different from my experience of this place?

Looking for a different perspective, I move up to a bench on the balcony at street level next to a little shop that sells fries. I listen to the words of customers making small talk with the cook, casual words slipping from their mouths revealing how they see the world.

Little sparrows hop around on the tile floor searching out morsels that are dropped.

A feather falls from the sky, caught in midair by a sparrow. A treasure to line her nest. I have to keep my eyes open all the time to see the treasures. Maybe I’ll just sit here and wait for my treasure to fall from heaven. A gift to me that I will only receive if my eyes are wide open.