An Attic filled with Birds [Completed]

26. London

Damien
I know people, rich people, travel to other worlds as their vacations and such. I never really thought about it, though.

Felix directed us to a building with I don't even know how many floors. They seem to go on forever. Everything is fancy; the floor, the walls and even the elevator music was on another level. It's clear who their target demographic is.

Felix didn't look at the floor plan before pressing a button. We went up to floor fifteen. Me and Nora were gawking at everything around us, mindlessly following Felix around. We entered some sort of shop.

There are maps on the walls, and aisles filled with everything you might need. Travel sized maps, mobile phones and different currencies. There's an infinite amount of different clothing styles.

'What do you think these pins mean?' Nora asks me.

I walk over to her. She's looking at one of the maps on the wall. Felix is on the other side of the room, talking to a woman he seems to know.

'They're scattered everywhere,' I say.

'Exactly. There doesn't seem to be a pattern in them.'

'Strange.'

'Everything here looks strange,' she says.

I smile.

'It does,' I admit. 'I never imagined this is what it would look like.'

'The preparation you mean?'

'Yeah. I just thought you'd pay and go.'

Nora laughs.

'What?' I ask.

'Just pay and go?'

'Yeah, what about it?'

'I mean, I didn't think there would be this much stuff beforehand, but there had to be a little. It's an entirely different world. You can't just go.'

'I guess.'

We keep looking at the map in front of us. Red thumbtacks are spread everywhere, not holding anything up or pinning anything down. They're always near place names.

The door to the shop opens behind us, and a young couple walks in. They greet us by nodding in our direction. Nora and I do the same in return. When they see Felix and the woman talking, they walk towards us instead.

'Quick, act like you're rich,' Nora tells me.

'What?'

'Good afternoon,' the man says.

'Hi,' Nora says. 'Good afternoon.'

The woman nods again.

'Where are you two heading off to?' Nora asks.

'We're thinking of going to Beijing this year,' the woman says.

This year?

'I hear it's lovely there,' Nora says, pretending she's no different from them.

'We heard the exact same thing,' the man says. 'How about you two?'

'We're not sure.'

'What are you doubting?'

Yeah, Nora, what are we doubting? I look at her with a smile on my face. A rich people smile, one that doesn't seem entirely genuine. No teeth.

'Oh, you know,' she says. 'The usual things.'

Nailed it.

'You mean if you can manage the language?' the man asks.

Nora nods her head to confirm.