A city story

A city story

He was on a tall building. On the horizon the city seemed rather quiet without the usual cars. Somewhere on the street a flying poster reminded of the “Clean week” in which driving was not allowed anywhere in the city. That was the last thing on the man’s mind though. In his hand he kept the white hat that until recently had been worn by him on a tennis tournament. He was now nervously turning it in his hands remembering the tragic accident that brought him to the gates of madness. He saw no hope for himself or his family. That is why he decided to take this step. He did not know what was waiting for him on the other side but it could not be worse than here. He climbed on the ledge and looked down. It seemed to be a long way but he knew it would be over rather quick. He closed his eyes for one last prayer. He then took another look at his last road and just when he was to take the step...
They were both on a park bench looking bored. They had been together for one year and it all seemed repetitive already. They felt like they had hit a wall. There were few people in the park and yet they felt like in a busy marketplace. None had any ideas of what to talk about. Still their story began so beautiful. They met a beginner’s dance course. It all went so well that in only 6 months they won their first contest. But time changed something and now they both thought there was no point of continuing this relationship. Still neither said anything. Suddenly they both made a silent decision on what had to be done, and just when they turned towards each other...
She had a terrible headache. Two small children were too much. And the husband was still not home. The little one had been crying for half an hour and the other one was throwing cubes around the house imagining himself in who knows which cartoon he had seen recently. She suddenly remembered the food that was forgotten on the cooker and ran towards the kitchen followed by the “siren”. At least she managed to save the dinner. She was already wet with sweat yet the little one seemed to have infinite energy. She started thinking about the time she was younger and had no worries, and then about the uncertainty of the future forming in front of her. She also did not know where her husband was and what kept him. Even with him they were financially at the edge of the cliff. She slowly went to the window and looked in the distance without seeing anything. She was worried. She suddenly felt a cube hitting her and right when she was about to shout at the child...
He was in the park, as it had always been, wasting time on little sketches with no real meaning. It had been a long time since he had found any joy in it. Still he continued coming because he was so used to it. He was known by many elder people, teenagers, and families with dogs, yet even the pleasure of small talk with the “park community” had lost its taste recently. The girl he though was perfect for him had left him. Since then everything lost its charm and time passed awfully slow and still too quickly, without bringing anything new in his life. So he carried on drawing, board after board, with themes that were getting more depressing by the minute. This evening it was a man on a ledge who seemed to be preparing to jump. The young man looked at it and it seemed to him as though it was more of a self-portrait, and that depressed him even more. He wanted to quit art and go study economics like his family had always advised him. He threw all the things in his bag and right when he was about to crumple the paper...
Suddenly the whole town got covered in a grave-like darkness. You could not see anything. No car headlights, no flashlights. It seemed as though time had been stopped for the people living in the city. They were petrified to be seeing the first blackout in thirty years. Shy at first, people started to gather at the windows trying to figure out what was going on. A child stopped crying amazed at the new happening. His mother stood at the window, trying to see something that was far away. Meanwhile a small bundle was hugging her left leg. Two young people stopped from what they were doing. None of them was realizing that they had just averted a terrible mistake. They were busy looking up at the sky and seeing the stars appear one by one. A gentleman sat on a ledge and looked up, mouth open, watching as nature unveiled its true celestial beauty. A young man was trying to keep up with the speed with which the stars where showing up, his hand already dancing on the paper. Little time passed before the sky looked like the cape of a giant wizard, lit by the many souls in his care. The silence made the people imagine themselves somewhere in the middle of nature. It was amazing and never before seen. He took her in his arms and she cuddled beside him. They both looked at the sky. For a long time the silence of the city and the beauty of the sky halted life for the people. Then one moment everything changed. The city lit up again. The stars disappeared as fast as they had appeared. Time started to pass again, unforgiving, and the spell was broken.
Enough time had passed for him to realize how wrong his decision was. He could not let his children without a father. He was going to fight for a better job and if he had to die, then it would be on the battlefield while looking for money to support his family. He started climbing down the many stairs of the building happily thinking about the good decision he had made. At the same time he was thanking the world for saving him before it was too late.
They started to softly whisper promises of eternal love under stolen kisses. They had just what they had. They did not want to waste moments anymore. They wanted to fight to keep their relationship alive and fresh. They hugged again and he, feeling amazing, decided to make the big step. He kneeled and with a trembling voice proposed. Without thinking she accepted by giving him a long kiss full of love. They happily left towards the exit. On the way they met a friend of hers. She had just moved to the area where she had opened an art gallery. They soon found out she was single at the moment. The newly fiancées came up with an idea. They told her to go to the other side of the park because it was a great area and she was sure to love it. They separated and the young lady went to the place they had recommended.
She put the child in his bed smiling the whole time. She had realized that she had done a mistake. She loved children and decided never to let worries encumber her in such a way as to forget herself. She played for another ten minutes with the young one and then got him to sleep very easy. She was happy with herself. The young woman, with a smile on her face, warmed the food again and prepared to greet her husband. They were going to overcome their problems. She looked at her watch noticing how late he was. Suddenly she got a call that would turn her life around.
The young man finished the drawing. It looked good but could hardly compare to the feeling of seeing the actual event. He smiled when he realized it was the first painting, in a very long time, in which nobody died. He had already forgotten her. She was not worth it if she did not care about him. He heard a voice over his shoulder that commended the beauty of the painting. He turned around and noticed the most beautiful being he had ever laid eyes on. The eyes, the smile, she was perfect. He smiled to her and they started talking. Meanwhile the young man was contemplating what he could have lost had he gone home early. He smiled again. And once more when he found out the young girl had an arts gallery. He felt he was going to again have a great week. Somewhere, not very far, two young people, hidden from the others, congratulated themselves happily for being able to offer someone else a bit of what they had.
He entered the house happy and with some flowers he had gathered in the park. He met his wife who was beaming. A distant relative that they never met had left them a small inheritance. It was exactly what they needed to start their life all over again. He took her in his arms and they danced. Everything was going to change. Overcoming the initial burst of happiness they both sat down at the table and started telling the story of where they were when the strange thing happened, and speaking of other trivial things, forgetting the ugly parts. They had no place in these kinds of moments. They had found happiness again and they were not going to forget it anytime soon. Life was good once more.

©Iustin