Odyssey of the City of Lights

Odyssey of the City of Lights - Book 1 - Chapter 18

The rhythm of the week settled into a comfortable pattern. It was eerily reminiscent of my life back home.

Each day, I rose early, prepared for the day, and packed a lunch. That took a bit to get used to; previously, my Mom handled that.

The other notable difference here in the city was Aaron's role in driving us to work, replacing my walks to the tractor or the fields. The familiarity was comforting, making adjusting and falling into a comfortable rhythm easier. I enjoyed the bustling city. I enjoyed seeing new faces regularly.

I settled into a comfortable routine at the warehouse, each task becoming more familiar and less daunting. The once intimidating labyrinth of boxes and heavy machinery I rarely used now felt like a second home. I was able to find my way around the warehouse with minimal navigation help from the data pad.

Working alongside Rocket was probably the reason for this. I quickly learned the ins and outs of warehouse operations, absorbing his tips and tricks. I was surprised to find myself keeping pace with him, even without the aid of AR goggles. My hands moved quick enough with the handheld device, scanning, sorting, and organizing with a rhythm that matched Rocket's, much to his amusement.

Navigating lunchtime proved more challenging than I had anticipated. Aaron had provided me with one of his lunch boxes. It wasn't like the simple metal box with a latch I had back home. This was a modern thing that did extra functions. Functions that I didn't know how they worked.

On the first day, I found myself sitting alone on the loading dock, a bit lost. I repeatedly lifted the prepackaged lunch in and out of the box, unsure of how to proceed. My confusion must have been quite evident because Rocket paused in his stride toward the food trucks.

"Eli, you look confused? Want help?" He asked in a teasing, childish tone.

I ignored the teasing tone and lifted the lunchbox to him.

With a half-smirk, Rocket approached and effortlessly showed me how to activate the heating element of the lunch box. I watched, fascinated, as he pressed a few buttons, and the box hummed to life, gently warming the meal inside. A brief wait ensued, filled with Rocket's humming a song I don't know.

When the timer ran out, he demonstrated the art of opening the meal compartment and skillfully using the disposable utensils provided. He held it in his grimy hands and tried feeding me, but I took the utensils from his hands and fed myself.

I smirked and said with a full mouth, "I know how to do that part of the process. Thanks for the first part."

Rocket shrugged and walked off towards the food trucks again, leaving me to eat the hot meal. It was another new meal. I would rank it below the sweet potatoes and brisket but above my mother's cooking.

Sorry Mommy.

The evenings in the city was a bit of a contrast to my life back in the village as well. At home, after a long day of tending to the fields, my responsibilities would stretch well into the evening till dinner or bedtime, with chores that ranged from caring for animals to tending the garden, or addressing whatever maintenance the house and my parents demanded.

Here in the city, once my workday concluded, so too did my responsibilities. I mean Aaron asked me to help clean up and help make dinner, but that took like 30 minutes or an hour. That left me with the concept of free time.

I never had free time.

The first night exploring this concept, after cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, making dinner, and eating, I looked at the clock and still had a few hours before bedtime. I spent my time as a silent observer, watching Aaron as he meticulously worked on exporting digital art from their last competition.