When my daughter selected writing prompt number 423, she wasn’t certain that I would want to write a poem, so she also selected a backup writing prompt from the same page. I’ve chosen to go ahead and write a story from the writing prompt because Nature’s Caress flowed forth like it had just been waiting for permission.
425. Lost in a new city…
a city to call home
She turned another corner. Nothing looked familiar, but everything looked the same.
She wasn’t going to panic. She absolutely refused to panic. She could feel the panic set in.
Why had she moved here? What in the name of all the gods had possessed her to choose this overpacked city of a million and one citizens? The buildings were built practically on top of each other. And had they all been printed from the same 3D printer?
She took a deep breath. Was that guy following her? Hard to tell in this city full of people. Everyone all crowded in, dressing the same, going the same places. It was all so unnerving.
Where had she parked her car? It had to be around here somewhere. She turned another corner.
Had that guy followed? She still couldn’t be certain. Had he been wearing a hat before?
She’d found a great job, she reminded herself. It was her dream job. It was everything she was looking for in a job.
She chose her own hours. She chose her own clients. She had her own office. The only downside had been the necessity to move.
Still, she’d accepted the position on condition that they find a suitable apartment that she and her 4-year-old daughter could make their home. Her new employer had even come through on that. Finding them a wonderful, spacious apartment near a local park.
She wondered if she would ever find her way back to her car so that she could return to her apartment and her beautiful daughter who waited there for her with her new babysitter. She turned another corner. That guy had definitely followed her.
She crossed the street by running through traffic. Drivers honked at her, but she didn’t stop until she’d reached the safety of the sidewalk. She turned to see if the creep followed her crazy stunt. He’d disappeared into the crowd.
She turned and melted into the packed sidewalk. She tried to remember where she had parked. There’d been a coffee shop across from the parking structure. She couldn’t for the life of her remember which one it had been.
In a city like this, there was a coffee shop on just about every corner. She found the nearest one and ducked in for a cup of coffee and a table to sit at while she gathered her thoughts. The bored teenager behind the counter barely looked up.
Armed with their biggest cup of coffee and an intimidating-looking bear claw, she settled into a table in the corner. She took a bite of the pastry and relaxed a little as the flavors melted over her tongue. A city couldn’t be all bad with pastries like this.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and dug the parking stub from her purse. She found the listing for the garage and used her phone’s maps feature to plot the way. It was only a few blocks away.
She finished her bear claw. After depositing her trash in the receptacle, she took her coffee and headed in the direction she knew she would find her car. The setting sun glinted in oranges and pinks off the glass of the buildings around her, and she realized her new city was beautiful.
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