Distorted
I.
It was cold. My hands were quivering, struggling to grasp the lantern I clutched so tightly. The soft light illuminated the small area surrounding, casting my shadow on the ground. I could feel my bandage slowly unraveling, falling apart with the weight of my blood. Holding back screams of pain, I gritted my teeth and trudged forward, feeling the warm, thick liquids slowly trickle down my face. The night's darkness was more intimidating than it had been before, the starless skies glaring down at me coldly. With a sigh, I used my free hand to pull my cap firmly over my faded blond hair, and stared up, into the darkness. The moon lay stark against the ocean of black, and a shadow began to reveal over its surface. I forced my lips into a smile. The silhouette was slowly taking shape-a hot air balloon- and drifted through the sky, lazily. I couldn't suppress the grin forming on my face. My limping broke into an awkward sprint, drops of crimson flying behind me. Slowly, a skyline began to appear in my blurred vision. As the buildings began to focus, I skidded to a halt, wheezing. Placing my hand on my chest to steady my breaths, I whispered to myself, "I…I've done it…" I turned away and then stared at the city once again, reinforcing its reality, "I made it."
I found my way through the streets, often stopping to stare at the buildings that towered over me, amazed. That first night, people frequently looked at me, studied me, silently forming opinions on me, but I dismissed their judgments. Instead, I studied them. Their walk, their talk, their ever apparent air of importance; each aspect I noted in detail. The entire environment was new to me. By the time the sun rose, I had found myself by the docks, the rising sun leaving a faint pink hue on the hull of every arriving ship. My moment of amazement was soon interrupted by two sharp pangs of pain, one dull pounding in my stomach, and a harsh throbbing where my eye once was. I immediately placed my palm over my wound, only to have it dyed red with blood. My lantern was long gone, lost amongst the labyrinth of streets, so selling that was clearly not an option. Frantically, I searched my pockets, foraging for money, money of any kind, but found nothing. Discouraged, I found a bench near the shore, neither of my problems solved. Through the discord of my pain, my eye caught a couple promenading down the walk. The woman was wearing a lavender lace dress; the man a clean white suit. They smiled at each other as they slowly walked out of sight. I stared aimlessly at their path, jealousy growing within. I soon shook off the emotion, once again bringing myself back to reality.
"Maybe I shouldn't be here."
But looking back at the docks, the ships, outlined against the dawn, just made my will to stay stronger than before.
