The first thing he felt were the gentle lapping of water at his ankles. The sound of birds chirping was in the air, along with the sound of gently running water. Jay eyelids popped open, but instantly clamped back down over his eyes due to the sensory overload as the bright light flooded his vision.
'So, this is the afterlife...' Jay thought as he laid on the soft grass, soaking up the morning sun rays while feeling the water gently flow against his legs.
Opening his eyes once more, this time slowly to allow his eyes to adapt to the surroundings, Jay stretched his arms. However, as he did so, he felt something weird on his arms, almost like a stinging pain. Retracting them, Jay looked at his forearms and realised it was still covered with lactations, similar to the ones he received while he was still in the burning building. Small patches of dull red stained his sleeves, while his pants had a hole over the left knee.
'Wait a minute, something's not right. Why are my injuries still here?' Jay wondered, as he looked at himself over. His injuries were all present, almost as if nothing had changed since he was in that burning building. Even his sleeves and collar still had the soot on it. His hair was still a mess, while there was a burning sensation at the back of his throat after inhaling so much smoke.
'Water… I need water,' Jay thought to himself as he bent down and scooped a handful of water from the river. It looked clean enough, without any impurities, and frankly, he didn't care that much either, since the burning sensation in his throat was growing stronger by the seconds.
"I wouldn't drink it if I were you," another voice suddenly spoke up. Jay jolted in fright, letting all the water spill all over his lap. He turned around, and saw a man with spiky, greying hair. He wore simple brown clothes, along with a brown vest on top of it. At first glance it was pretty obvious to Jay that the man was a vagabond. Simple clothing with many patches and signs of wear and tear, unkempt hair and poor dentition - all a clear indicator of homelessness. However, there was something off about him. The clothes, while worn and plain, still had a touch of Chinese styling.
"Here, you seem thirsty, drink this instead," the man continued, handing Jay a small cup. By now, the burning sensation was unbearable, so Jay gulped down the entire cup in one mouth. As he wiped the water off his lips, he noticed the man chuckling, "I have never seen a man so thirsty before. Anyways there's more water I boiled. You know, we vagabonds have to help each other out."
'So, I was right, this guy is a vagabond. But where am I? Obviously, this is not the afterlife, where am I? Best to lay low and act natural first.' Jay thought to himself, before saying, "Yea, I guess"
"Right you are! Oh, by the way, the name's Gommu. Say, I have never seen you before. You new?" Gommu said, flashing his trademark smile.
"Yea just got here not too long. And my name is Jay, pleased to meet you," Jay continued. 'Gotta learn more about this place, but in a low-key manner.'
"What a bummer it must be for you. Coming all the way to Republic City, only to find out it's not as good as people say it is," Gommu said, while pouring himself another cup of water from a small pot that hung over a fire.
"Yea, I was kinda bummed out too. What did you hear about Republic City before you chose to come?" Jay asked, trying to dig out more information on this so called 'Republic City'.
"I was a telegraph operator in the Navy, and after I was discharged, I heard stories of Republic City. You know, beautiful skyline, the best technology, everyone is 'living it up'. So, I decided to come here. But who knew I would have ended up in a park," Gommu explained while Jay merely nodded. However, beneath his calm exterior, the gears in Jay's mind were already spinning. 'Telegraph operator? Navy? Beautiful skyline? What is going on?'
"Anyways, I've gotta go visit the dumpsters for ingredients for my dinner. It was nice talking to you Jay," Gommu added. Gathering his makeshift tripod and worn out pot, he quickly hid them under some cloth inside a bush, which Jay could only assume was his home, before wandering off.
Jay was left alone sitting by the river, looking about to get a better sense of his surroundings. The river he was by appeared to be in a large park, with an abundance of greenery and small flowy hills. There were also no shortage of lush trees and impeccably kept grass. All along the river that seemed to stretch the entirety of the park were small stone bridges, including the one beside him.
As he ran his hand absent-mindedly over the stone bridge that arched across the river, Jay suddenly noticed something. The bridge certainly felt like it was made from stone, with the distinctive patterns and textures of stone. However, there was not a single seam to be seen at all, almost as if the entire bridge was cut from a single piece of stone. 'Weird…' he thought to himself, but that thought was quickly relegated to the depths of his mind, for he now had more pressing matters to think about.
'Ok… so I was in a fire, pinned down under some rubble. Then the ceiling collapsed onto me, but what happened next? Somehow, I find myself in another place… was its Republic City? Where is it though? I have never heard of "Republic City" ...' Jay wondered to himself as he climbed the bridge to get a better view.
Jay soon reached the top of the bridge, and he finally managed to get a better view. Beyond the park, lay the beautiful skyline. Tall glass and metal skyscrapers rose up into the sky, glistening as the sun's rays reflected off the surface, and together these skyscrapers all formed the distinctive skyline. It instantly reminded Jay of the New York skyline from the 1920s, when skyscrapers were the latest architectural revolution.
As he leaned on the railings, Jay continued thinking aloud to himself, 'So this Republic City is like New York City. But what is this place? How did I get here? All I remember was the ceiling coming down on me, and then… Maybe this is the afterlife… but it's unlikely… my injuries are still here and rather fresh!' Jay looked at the gash on his arm again. It was healing, but there were still remnants of dried blood around it.
'Ok Jay, you need to calm down. You can think of something…' Jay continued his muttering, or more accurately, rambling. Taking in deep breaths, Jay finally managed to calm himself down, and was now able to start formulating a plan. The first thing he would do would be to gather information about Republic City. However, he soon realised that without his phone or access to technology, he would not be able to search the internet. 'Well, I guess it would be books then,' Jay chuckled, musing how something seemingly obsolete turned out to be helpful after all. Also, there was a very real chance that this world would not have internet as he knew it, or that Republic City turned out to be like a communist country where information is tightly controlled. Books would be the best bet in obtaining information, since even in countries where information is tightly controlled, books still exist in the form of propaganda. Although they may contain skewed and inaccurate information, it is still better than having no information at all.
Then there was the other way of obtaining information – interacting with people. Although slightly introverted and preferring not to socialise with other people if possible, Jay nonetheless still recognised the importance of interaction with other people. In this case, the interaction would provide much needed information, some of which even books may not reveal, such as the latest information or sentiment amongst the people. Jay decided it was best to start interacting with the working classes. Although they did not have access to important information, they would still be privy to general knowledge, not to mention being easier to interact with and extract information from.
Through his short stay here, Jay had already noticed the demographics of the area. Aside from interacting with Gommu, Jay had also seen other vagabonds as well as other park goers. One interesting fact he had noticed was all the people he had seen were Asian, or rather looked like Asians since the continent Asia may not even exist here. The skin colour ranged from pale white to brown, yet the hair colours were mostly black, with only a few people with brown hair. 'Maybe they are some immigrants of some sort and I'm in their part of the city. Well, at least my hair will let me blend in,' Jay thought to himself as stared at the water below the bridge.
Jay soon saw a few shells swimming about in the water. 'They have turtles here too…' he thought to himself until he noticed the yellow head and feathers. His eyes widened in shock as he continued staring at the weird creature closest to him. It had the yellow head and feathers of a duck, even the bill, yet it had a turtle shell. It was almost as if someone attached a turtle shell to the back of a duck. 'What is this… duckturtle…turtleduck…' Jay thought to himself as weird creature swam off to join its family. Shaking his head, Jay silently hoped that this turtle-duck hybrid was the weirdest thing he saw today.
Taking a step back from the railing, Jay turned around and was about to walk off when he collided with another person. The water from the bottle that the person had been drinking from instantly splashed all over Jay's shirt, drenching him. Reeling from the shock and surprise, Jay looked up and saw a young boy wearing a blue parka with matching blue pants. In his hand, he held an open animal skin bottle. Smiling sheepishly, he looked at Jay and said, "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Never mind it's alright," Jay said as he tried wringing the water out of his shirt.
"Don't worry, I'm a water bender, let me bend the water off you," the boy replied. Raising his hand, he bended the water out of Jay's shirt, leaving it as dry as a bone, before sending the blob of water over the railing and into the water. "I guess it's water under the bridge now…geddit?" he joked, stopping when she saw Jay's reaction.
Jay was dumbstruck. The boy in front of him had literally pulled the water out of his shirt, before sending it into the river, not touching the water even once. He had done it with a simple wave of his hands, almost as if it took no effort at all. And he was visibly nonchalant about the fact that he just did something which should have been nigh impossible, as if it was the norm. 'What if he's not the only one. What if everyone in this world has these powers. What if this is just the norm?' Jay's mind was spinning as he unknowingly took a few steps back from the boy.
"Hey, are you alright?" the guy asked, looking at the trembling young man in front of him, fear written all over his face as he stretched out his hand towards him. He soon regretted it though, since he immediately recoiled in shock when he stuck his hand out.
"Stay ba-back, I'm warning y-you…y-you stay back from m-me," Jay stuttered as he stuck out his hand in an attempt to protect himself. It was a vain attempt though, and Jay knew it. If the boy was able to control water, who knows what else he was capable of? Would he be able to control humans, given that they are 70% water? Maybe he could even pull his blood right out of him.
"Calm down, I'm not going to …" the boy spoke once more as he took a step back, hands raised in the air, but Jay immediately turned and sprinted when he stepped back. "…hurt you.
Jay ran and ran until he could not catch his breath. He considered himself fit and running was no problem to him, but the shock of seeing water float in front of him, combined with his injuries, greatly hampered his ability to run. Looking up, Jay realised that he had reached the edge of the park and was now near one of the side gates of the park.
As he walked past a small hut next to the gate, Jay glanced and saw his reflection in the shiny surface of the metal hut. His hair was a mess, his shirt tucked out and his pants slightly torn at the edges. Jay cleaned himself up as best as he could, tidying his hair and dusting the dirt off his shirt. Satisfied, he began his new adventure in the city itself. A part of him just wanted to stay within the safety of the park, but after watching the boy's 'performance', understanding this world became a top priority for Jay, as it is of great importance should he want to survive.
Stepping through the park's gates, Jay soon entered the city itself. If it had to be described in one phrase, without a doubt it would be "1920s Manhattan meet Shanghai". Artistic and architectural styling were all reminiscent of New York during the Roaring Twenties. Bright coloured awnings flank the streets, while trolley car cables hang over the roads. Occasionally, a trolley park will pass by, but unlike the ones Jay had seen in colourised photos of 1920s Manhattan, these trolley cars were adorned with intricately designed stylings that are clearly Chinese, rather than the simple designs Jay had seen.
Much like Shanghai and Manhattan though were the architecture. Steel bridges and elevated trolley tracks hung over the streets, while the buildings had the distinctive minimalist design. Tall skyscrapers ascended into the skies, much like those in New York. These skyscrapers had designs reminiscent of the times when skyscrapers were still in their infancy. Rather than having the familiar glass and metal clad exterior, instead masonry was the norm, with granite and stone facades were common, with a smaller wall-to-windows ratio than the modern skyscrapers. Jay also noted that they had unlocked the secret of having a steel frame to support the skyscraper, noting that their height would have been impossible to achieve with older construction methods.
Close to earth, or rather the streets, were the comparatively primitive forms of transportation. Majority of the city travelled via the street trolleys. Cars were present too, yet they were still very obviously in their infancy, with thin tyres and non-air conditioned passenger cabin, lack of power steering and primitive petrol engines. Like the street trolleys, the cars were also adorned with traditional Chinese stylings, making it look more like a palanquin on wheels.
Then there were the people. The fashion was undeniably 1920s, Jay had noted, yet it appeared to be a mixture of Western and Chinese styles. The common fashion for the men were Chinese-style tops and a jacket with a wide variety of lapels, coupled with trousers that were tucked into high boots and toppled off with a variety of hats – bowlers, fedoras you name it. The women dressed rather similarly to the men, sporting similar jackets with dresses with tights and leather stockings. Most of them had long hair, however, and not the bobbed haircut popular in 1920s New York.
Jay on the other hand, was completely out of place. Chino trousers with long sleeved shirts – stylish and fashionable in his time but causing to stick out like a sore thumb here. To make matters worse, his clothing had signs of heavy wear and tear, courtesy of the fire. 'Time to get some new clothes,' Jay thought to himself, but suddenly realised that he had no money that would be accepted here.
"Ah crap," Jay muttered aloud, kicking a small rock as he walked along the pavements. He had completely overlooked the fact that he had no job, no money, no food, and no place to stay. While there was always the park, Jay wasn't ready to live the life of a vagabond … yet. Finding a job was still his best bet. As of now, any job would suffice, providing him with an income as he did his research on this place. Maybe he would be stuck here forever, maybe he would be able to start out a successful career, or even a company. After all, like 1920s Shanghai or Manhattan, this place was certainly at the forefront of economic growth. But for now, Jay decided he would take things one step at a time.
Walking past a restaurant, something caught Jay's eye. It was a poster pasted on the window, and it said the restaurant was hiring! All Jay needed to do was to have an interview, and hopefully he would then have a stable income. Jay was about to enter the restaurant when he suddenly realised something. He needed a cover story. A backstory of where he came from. Surely the interviewer would ask him this at the very least.
The library was Jay's next stop. It was a tall grey building, not unlike the supreme court in New York. Finding the place was easy enough – the street vendors were more than happy to help Jay. They had initially looked warily at his weird and worn clothes, but the moment he spoke it was clear he wasn't the average vagabond. Entering the library, the first thing Jay noticed was how vintage it felt. Bookshelves made of actual wood lining the great hall, with tables in the centre for readers, complete with those lamps with the green shades. However, there was little time to admire the place. Jay had to move quick, since someone might just come and get hired.
Soon, Jay found his materials – a book on general history, and general geography. Quickly skimming through the materials, Jay came up with a suitable enough backstory. He was from the earth kingdom city Ba Sing Se, who decided to come to Republic City in order to have a better life, and he got here by stowing away on a cargo ship. Satisfied, Jay made a mental note of where all the books roughly are, since he would be returning to this place to further his research. Borrowing books, for some reason, wasn't a thing here.
The small bell attached to the door rang as Jay pushed it open. The restaurant was almost empty, since it was not meal time. Walking to the counter, Jay saw a young waitress nonchalantly filing her nails as she listened to the radio.
"Hi, I'm here for the job offer," Jay started as he gestured towards the poster stuck on the window.
"Oh, you would have to wait for the boss, he should be returning anytime soon," the black-haired girl replied as she put her nail file away. Thanking her, Jay took a seat at an empty table.
Soon, the boss returned. A portly middle-aged man with a pince-nez, he looked flustered as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief while the girl told him about Jay. He quickly took a seat opposite Jay, apologising for his delay. 'Seems like a nice guy,' Jay mentally noted as he watched the man sit.
"Sorry for being a little late. There was a bit of a traffic. So many satomobiles on the road these days," he said as he wiped his forehead once more. 'So that's what they are called. Weird. Satomobiles…' Jay thought, while letting out a small laugh and nodding his head in agreement.
"Good afternoon sir, my name is Jay. I am from Ba Sing Se, and I recently arrived in Republic City to find a better life. You know, stories of everyone living it up…" Jay started, only to see the man's face lit up.
"Ba Sing Se? I was from Ba Sing Se too! Were you from the middle ring?" the boss instantly spoke up, interrupting Jay. Jay mentally kicked himself. Of all the places the boss could hail from, it had to be Ba Sing Se. Hopefully he wouldn't ask too many questions, or at least not before Jay could do his research.
"Uhh… no unfortunately I came from the lower ring. Spent most of my youth on the streets. It would be great if I could get this job," Jay continued, trying his best to recall what he had read in the library. If he was not wrong, the lower ring was the lowest socio-economic status in Ba Sing Se.
The interview soon ended, with Jay getting the job. "Living in the lower ring must have been tough. I was from the middle ring, but still decided to come here to start this restaurant. Took some time for the old man to accept though. Oh, and where are my manners? The name's Chang," Chang rattled on excitedly as he told his backstory. Out of the corner of his eye, Jay could see the waitress roll her eyes before continuing to clean the tables.
Chang was about to continue talking when suddenly, the phone rang. Excusing himself, Chang walked off towards the kitchen. Watching him leave, Jay stood up and walked towards the waitress.
"So, I guess we are colleagues now. I'm Jay," Jay said as he offered his hand out. The waitress shook it as she introduced herself, "Nice to meet you, I'm Rei."
"So, Rei, when is the dinner crowd going to come?" Jay asked as he noticed a clock hanging on the wall. It showed 5 o'clock. However, Rei only looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"I guess since you are new you don't know. This restaurant has been doing badly. On a good night, I would say maybe a third of the tables are filled?" Rei explained as she continued cleaning the table. Jay was shocked, since the restaurant looked like a nice place, fairly modern for this time period.
"It has been going on for some time, yet no matter what Chang tries, it still doesn't attract the customers. What can I say, though, he is relatively new to the business. His family owns a tailor shop and he has absolutely no experience in food," Rei sighed as she walked back to the counter. "Give or take, I'd say we will close down in two weeks' time."