I sat in the center of the City. All the old roads led back to this one center. This was a place form before the takeover, a place where people used to gather and meet.
I imagined a café to my right. A girl would walk out in a cheongsam twirling a parasol on the arm of a man in a suit. Through the window, I could see a pair of sisters chattering over the menu, poring over the fabulous foods and talking about their days. The waiter, a clumsy young man, would take their orders, fumbling over words and making them laugh.
Beyond the café was a little boutique. Pretty dresses lined the window in every color of the rainbow. A boy would adjust one of the mannequin's hats. He would watch a blonde girl who walked by and smile when she turned to wave.
To my left there was an art gallery. Expressive splattering s of paint decorated the walls and canvasses hung on pegs adding livelier colors to the mix. A potential buyer and his assistant surveyed a piece before turning to the manager to ask the price.
In front of me, there was a fountain, a tall, statuesque feat of stone. Fresh water would rain down from its turrets, splashing all who ventured too near. A child and his mother would sit on the stone, that wasn't quite wet, and share ice cream cones.
Beyond them I could see a couple stare into each other's eyes, oblivious of the colors and noise around them. They would hold onto each other as if they would never let go. Everything faded in comparison as I watched them.
It was something so foreign in the place I came from. I had seen money buy "love" and "companionship". All my life, my mother, my brother, and my sister were part of it. I was going to be too. As long as I was hungry, I would have to do what I could to fill my stomach. As long as I had to breathe, I would have to find money to pay for the air purifier.
There was no way out.
Yet, here they were so happy; so content to just stand there until the earth ended, the buildings around them crumbled to dust.
It was different.
"Chickens! Fresh chickens!" The vendor's voice dragged me out of my reverie.
There is no café, only a vendor. There is no boutique, only a ChaoGear store. There is no art gallery, only a parking lot. There is nothing left of the fountain but crumbling marble. People mill around the plaza, phantoms in the fog. They are oblivious to what has been; that they are standing in the epicenter of something greater.
No one noticed.
No one realized.
I was alone.
Again.
But, beyond the fountain, I saw two people.
One was dark haired. His coat flapped in the wind making him a striking figure. I saw pale skin, alabaster in its perfection, and a body that rivaled the statues of the masters.
The man he was meeting with was blonde. The sandy hair the color I imagined the beach to be. He smiled with his mouth and with his eyes. The most honest kind of smile I ever knew. He motioned about with his arms gesturing to the fountain.
The dark haired one settled on the edge of the fountain's ruins. The blond stood beside him. They smiled to each other, eyes meeting.
For a second, time seemed to stop. The blonde leaned closer, pulling the dark haired one in. A short stopped showing his hesitation, asking for permission. The dark haired one lifted his chin and closed his eyes. The force of their touch lifted the dark haired one off the fountain's edge and into the blonde's arms. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect kiss.
When they parted, I saw then stare into each other's eyes, oblivious to the grey around them.
I learned love does exist.