The New City
The white trails of smoke clouded the skies above as the echoes of the jets boomed through the hollow morning in No Name Town. Not an ear could hear as below the city bustled from headphones to speakers with bicycles and people walking in the marble plaza or to the eco park, work, school, all beneath the eagles glare. And in the middle, on the 15th floor of her apartment building, sat a young woman staring longingly out the window to both the skies above and the city below. From that perch she gazed upon the screens that filled the city plaza, catering to a whole manner of needs from cafes, gyms, mindfulness pods, and streaming offices. Atop the largest skyscraper an electronic billboard always rang the quote, βThe most important thing is not life, but the good lifeβ pulsing in pink.Whenever her gaze slipped from the screens she found herself between the set of paths which there were two: the trail to everywhere and the trail to nowhere and the glaze of smoke in the clouds. Today though, a rather tall man stood at the fork of the two paths. He wore an all black sweatshirt with the brand name MoonHut bolded in white on the back and blue jeans from the brand she was most familiar with, SunHut. But there was something more, she noticed the white fedora with a forest green band around it was from somewhere she'd never seen before. Then the man seemed so odd, he must have been crazy taking one step in the direction of one trail before switching to the other and coming back again. One step towards nowhere, then one towards everywhere, as if the choice itself had trapped him.
Comments (9)
Charon seems awesome! Iβd get on his boat if it wasnβt so final! Great work
Love this - The mythological reference gave it a sad weight at the end- really clever micro fic π
I loved how the 'silent voyage' was both literal and symbolic, adding layers to the narrative. Beautifully written and deeply moving!
Please ask him to take me too. I'm tired of being alive, lol. Loved your story!
Damn - what a last para! Well done!
THe Grateful dead goes so well with this. Really really nice
This one will Styx with me as a bit of resigned comfort.
Oh, where are they heading. Is it purgatory or is it hell? Good job.
OH, Chills!! Wonderfully written, Mike