Overlap

Chapter 49: Intimate Telepathy

<05/30/2011 - 23:41 | Atlanta Streets (Enroute), Atlanta, GA, USA>

As I rested my tired forehead against the clear rear window of the car, I let the glorious sights of the city night dazzle my mind. For what I had to endure, the space around me and my situation separated the energy of my mind and body. Physically speaking, I was fighting the urge to sleep in the moving car. But mentally, I was as awake as a fireworks festival.

My mother had to make a trip driving into Atlanta in the evening, and now I'm riding back in the car even though it's close to my usual school set bedtime. Since I was an avid night person, I knew how to fight the exhaustion collecting inside. If my situation were any different, I would have been asleep already, bored out of my mind since there was literally nothing for me to do for the 90 minute ride back home, but I wasn't bored enough for it to bother me.

The decorations all around us seemed festive, street lamps decorated with bulbs in the name of Christmas themed ornaments, despite it being nowhere near Christmas time. The decorations illuminated the city of Atlanta around us, and the sights were beautiful. "At least I have you to keep me company in this moment."

Lumina's mind sounded divided too, talking to me while taking in all the sights I allowed my eyes to. Even though we were both bored, talking to each other erased such annoyance and built a soothing mood between us. "Yeah. Sorry you can't call me during the day anymore. It must really be getting hotter."

"I know." It's become the new normal, the length I have to reach just to have a single hour or two with Lumina these days. Because of the approaching summer, it's only been cold enough to contact Lumina late at night, and even then, the common connection strengths are less than ideal for us both.

This is one such moment. I knew I was not going to enjoy the ride to or from Atlanta. Car rides that are this long are something I despise strongly. But I also knew it was going to be a nice fifty degrees on the way back, based on the time of night and the ambient air temperature I can feel with the car window cracked down slightly. If I can spend that ninety minutes with Lumina somehow, even if she's only keeping me company, it won't be so bad. So, I put the earphones with music prepared into my ears, listening to Cloud Forest by Jon Dahlander. With this music in the background, it was easier to enjoy the moment with her as we spoke. "But with your voice in my ears, and this music, we can pass the time together. I can tell you already like some of the sights."

"This is Atlanta Georgia, a place you've never been to since after my purge was sent. So of course I want to see it with you. Even at night time, there are lights from here to there!"

There's a phrase poised for the types of cities Lumina just described. On Earth, we call them the cities that never sleep. In most big cities, there is plenty of activity going on even at night, be it normal or illegal. "Yeah." The soft solace I felt contrasted her enthusiasm, for I was excited too in my own chilling attitude.

"It's kind of pretty, especially on some of these back roads." Lumina doesn't realize that some of the back roads are potential hot spots for gang activity, but she is still correct. Some of the locations in Atlanta have been neglected, leaving cracks in the road and pockets of walkways or tiny parks eerie at this time of night. She and I both have an appreciation to places private and desolate, perhaps because we are both private people in our own way.

"Now if only it could snow here too." That would sure be something. The sights would be twenty times more enjoyable, and the stronger connection with Lumina would likely give me a bigger shared boost of energy.

"Given where you live, it's asking for too much."

"How good is the connection anyway?" It's always the one thing that's so difficult for me to tell. I feel some amount of drain throughout my body, indicating that it could be weak. However, if Lumina can still see through my eyes and hear me just fine, then it can't be in danger of being shut down like before. The symptoms of a weak connection can sometimes be too subtle for me to know.