Against the background of a blue, cloudless sky, the outlines of the city loomed.
It was so big that there seemed to be no end to it.
In the very center of the city, high-rise towers grew out of the ground, whose roofs were completely hidden behind the bodies of unwieldy clouds in gloomy weather.
Their walls of clean mirrors reflected the snow-white light in clear weather.
Thousands, millions of people lived here. They were born, studied, became adults, worked for the benefit of society, and at some point were buried in the cemetery.
And anyone who came to these parts for their happiness felt a certain presence of the almighty forces.
These invisible defenders stood guard over the city and sheltered it from envious eyes, helping it grow and develop.
Someday this "Babylon" will be able to reach outer space itself and allow people to go to the far corners of the galaxy. But not everything was so rosy and beautiful.
Around the "heavenly" skyscrapers there were less beautiful, less attractive houses where most of the townspeople lived.
All kinds of cars were driving along the gray, dusty, similar streets. And each of them poisoned the air, and industrial complexes, factories, and thermal power plants were piled up here and there.
Their pipes emitted hundreds and thousands of harmful substances into the atmosphere every second. And no filtration system could stop air pollution.
When winter came, the surrounding world was plunged into an impenetrable poisonous smoke, from which there was no escape.
Perhaps someday "Babylon" will be emptied, destroyed, and turn into another ghost town, which became more and more on the world map every year.
But now the heart of the metropolis continued to beat rhythmically, and nothing in the world could stop it.
I was lucky because I lived in the suburbs of this "Babylon", so I could walk through the streets full of greenery, breathe fresh air, feel the shade of living trees and enjoy the aromas of sweet flowers.
I had a cozy two-story house in a quiet area, and I could drive a small car anywhere I wanted.
But for all this, it was necessary to pay a decent price.
A once ambitious girl who dreams of conquering the world with her singing and dancing has turned into an ordinary housewife, devoid of any purpose.
All I had to do was create comfort and peace in the house for my beloved.
His name was Killian, and he was from the Jones family. His imperious touch, eloquence, and sharp mind quickly captured me, making me his wife forever.
And at first, everything was just like in a fairy tale.
But then the thirst for power changed my beloved husband.
Every year he became more sullen and angrier. And a few years later, my caring Killian turned into a tyrant and manipulator.
Because of his high position in society, he began to return home late, go on business trips for a long time, and, unfortunately for me, got into the bad habit of getting drunk.
And then his imperious touches, which once brought me to ecstasy, turned into rough blows.
And it's probably my own fault.
Instead of telling him everything that had accumulated in my soul, I chose to remain silent. Yes, the once ambitious girl turned into a gray mouse who was afraid of the shadow of her master.
I chose the easiest way of life for myself. And I know that this path was wrong.
I had to create for myself an imaginary world in which my Killian was the most caring husband in the world. Where nothing bad was written about him in the newspapers. And we lived in the best place on earth with the most hospitable neighbors.
By the way, I need to say a few words about these two-faced leeches. When my husband wasn't famous, they didn't want to be friends with us at all. They pretended that we didn't exist.
And as soon as Killian got a good place in the city administration, a queue of new friends-neighbors appeared on the threshold of our house.
They began to invite us to their house, treat us with homemade cakes and offer their help in solving all kinds of cases.
I didn't want to have anything to do with them, but Killian, instead of sending them all to the devil, pulled a fake smile on his face and began to enjoy the benefits of the neighbors.
"We need to be friendly people," he told me then.
"They haven't known us for all these years! Why should we forgive them?" I retorted.
"Darling, now I am a budding official, and I don't need another dirty article in which I will be accused of inappropriate behavior with neighbors."
"But…"
"That's enough, you'd better prepare a celebratory dinner, the Dixons are coming to visit us today."
"What?! You hate them!" I was very surprised at that moment.
"Maybe, but I need their voice on the council, so keep your mouth shut."
I resigned myself to my fate and fulfilled his decree. I cooked dinner and spent the whole evening serving these fat pigs who tried to fire my husband from work a few years ago. And it is a pity that they did not achieve their goal…
I'm Emma Jones. And I probably would have lived on like that, until one day something unimaginable happened…