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, “The most important thing is not life, but the good life” 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.

“LUCY!” The shout shattered across the silent window, breaking all that was nearly a profound reverie. While hearing her mothers shout Lucy still seemed captivated by what it was that she had seen happen, and what might have caused the man's inability to choose a route. “Lucy, gosh darnit, open up them ears, you've been by that window long enough, it's time, so why don't you just come.” Lucy felt a deep sense of dread and anger sinking into her bones but replied calmly, “coming mom” as she picked up her phone on the way out of her small cement floor bedroom. She opened the door to see her mother sitting in the fresh mahogany kitchen chair and table set that had an additional scented odor filled the room. As Lucy approached to sit with her mom, that sweet high pitched voice began again, “Well Lucy I know that you have a big decision to make today and I thought before that we could go out for breakfast, wherever you want to go. I want it to be a treat” As she finished she set her phone down which appeared to Lucy as if she was playing a game while talking. Lucy apparently stuck on the man she’d seen struggling in the street now couldn't come to make an utterance. “Lucy, hey, hello,” her mom snapped her fingers, bringing Lucy back into reality again. “Oh ummm I guess we could go to MoonRock Cafe. I always like their coffee…. And the desserts. Oh mom, I would just love to have their carrot cake today and oh yes it's only a ten minute walk from here and I'm so hungry.”

“Well then honey certainly. Today is a big day for you. It's not everyday a mother gets to see which university their daughter is going to decide to go to.After all how many get accepted into every university in town.”

“Well mom there are only like four of them.”

“Yes yes honey but I am so proud of you.”

“Have you decided yet? Or are you waiting till after breakfast?”

“Can we just go?” I'll tell you later” slips off her tongue with some sort of certainty when in reality she was still lost on that man in the fedora. Quickly responding while opening the door, “Well I’m ready when you are sweety” her mom responded while putting a headphone in one ear. “WAIT” Lucy shouted while she was running back to her room to pick up an old tattered book from her shelf. With a bent cover and ripped pages it certainly had gottens its use, “You know I can't go anywhere without this” as she showed the tattered cover of On Love by Stendhal to her mom before tucking it away in her purse as they made their way to the elevator. “You know I can't go anywhere without it” she clammered as passing by her mom.

As they made their way out the door and towards MoonRock Cafe couldn't help but look at the intersection of the two hiking trails in town again wondering what had become of the man.

“Isnt just wonderful” Lucy's mom began.

“Whats that?”

“Well just no matter what you choose today you’ll be close to home.”

Lucy clutching her purse was about to respond when her mother jumped in again, “Ooh look what game do you want to play while we wait for the lights to change?” Continuing on with her rambling “I always love playing the forest candy puzzle… It keeps my mind engaged and young… I just love it.” Lucy watched as the camera to activate the device recognized her face.

“Well mom, I wanted to talk to you about something. I saw a man this morning…”

“What's that hun?” while pressing the screen rapidly.

“Oh look, the light changed. Let's keep walking, you can tell me on the way. We're already almost there isn't that crazy. I am so glad we live in this new city. Everything is much more accessible, including you, even when you run off to university.”

“Well mom, that's what I’ve been meaning to say.”

“I mean look around you, the choices are endless. Look you could even go to one of those therapy pods on the street or go get a massage, whatever you want under the sun, all within an arms reach sweety.”

“Mom, will you just listen to me for a second.”

“Oh look we've already arrived, so close to the plaza and the Lost Ecopark. Honey I will listen, let's sit down. I already know what we want to order.”

“Hello miss, table for two?”

“Yes please and we would like an order of eggs and waffles for me and she would love the Moon Rocks Cappacucinno with a banana split and for me the Solar Heat espresso.”

“Okay miss right this way we have the perfect table for two on our balcony” the waiter commented while showing the table. Lucy took the seat next to her mom overlooking the plaza that offered a brief view of the same fork in trailheads from earlier in the morning. Already her mom began again while pulling out her phone, “Well honey so you were beginning… What a big choice you have to make today and with your breakfast, the decisions of how we eat are some of the most important” she finished while still seamlessly tapping her screen with a rather calm demeanor on her face. “Now where were we? You mentioned something about seeing a man in the morning? He wasn't doing anything obscene was he? We gave up a lot for this neighborhood…

“MOM!”

“What's that hun?”

“That man this morning was so strange. He seemed incapable of making a choice between the trailheads of nowhere and everywhere.”

“How do you mean? This place is so close together with so many options.”

“I mean mom he would take one step down one and then come back to the other only to return to the sign.”

“Well honey I thought we got rid of those homeless drug addicts in this neighborhood. I will make a report.”

“No mom, he didn't look like he was homeless or on drugs for that matter. He looked nervous. Or lost, I don't know.”

“Sorry to interrupt the banana split and your coffees. The waffles will be just a moment longer.”

“Thank”

“Mom, wait! That is him again over there!”

Lucy was pointing directly at the same man who was now dressed in the same brands but with a forest green sport polo and dress slacks but still wore the fedora. He was also now with another man. The stranger was a short man dressed head to toe in a blank blue MoonHut shirt and golf shorts hugging the man Lucy saw in the morning as if to say goodbye and slowly drifted away. “Yes hun I understand but I don't understand what the big deal is? You are choosing from the best universities in the world and they are all right here. Why are you so preoccupied with this man?” Lucy's head drifted into thought… She knew she recognized the shorter man walking away, but from where? she thought as the shorter man eventually faded out of sight. How? “That's it!” Lucy shouted! Her moms face turned more concerned and gazed at her daughter.

Lucy meanwhile turned her attention back to the man who now seemed to have no problem making a decision while ordering a coffee from the cart in the plaza. The man turned from the cart and a big strange raggedy dressed man bumped him into the road and a large city bus plastered the man sending him flying in the air before a loud smack on the ground as his head smashed like a grape and the city dwellers began to shout.