Cornelia Street - Avengers

Cornelia Street

"Just wanna let this story die. And I'll be alright. Wait until you like me again."

2-Months-Later

(we can't be friends, Ariana Grande)

...

Walking the streets of New York, the ones she had come to know like the back of her hand, it was easy for Lucia to switch her brain off. To let her body lead her, her feet walking her in the right direction, guiding her like a homing pigeon back to the looming technological tower at the heart of the city. 

Either locals deeply indulged in their phones, tourists snapping happy snaps, or the true locals making deals with deli shop owners. Either way, Lucia always stopped to observe, it was in her nature. She was observant, even if she seemed like she was in her own world. She had to be, she didn't know any other way to be.

She glanced around, suddenly aware of the cacophony of city sounds surrounding her: car horns blaring, people chattering, and the distant hum of construction machinery. Taking a deep breath, she turned to continue down the street, only to come face to face with a large construction site blocking her path.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath, bright eyes scanning around for another direction she could take to get home. The site loomed ominously, a tangle of metal beams and scaffolding stretching up towards the sky. 

Signs warned of potential hazards, and workers in hard hats bustled about, their shouts and the clatter of tools adding to the chaos. Groaning inwardly, Lucia realised that she would have to take a detour down Cornelia Street, a route she always avoided if she could help it. 

Cornelia Street had a reputation for being sketchy, with its dimly lit alleys and shady characters lurking in the shadows.

It hadn't been the place it was when she and Natasha had lived there, not the place it was in the 1940s, no longer the glamorous and bubbling with-life place, oozing with jazz and charm. Now it carried nothing but a strange undertone of a life lost, echoes of blue lost in the cold chill of New York. 

She mentally cursed, but with no other option available, Lucia squared her shoulders and set off down the familiar path, feeling her body shake, a black tank top proving a poor fashion choice. As her Mother had warned her. As she walked, Lucia couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled over her like a heavy cloak. 

The street seemed to stretch on forever, the buildings looming overhead like silent sentinels, old jazz clubs boarded up right to the last glass shard.

Not even a trickle of sunlight could make it through. Every shadow seemed to conceal some hidden danger, and every noise made her jump. But what unsettled her the most was the nagging feeling of familiarity that washed over her with each step she took.

 It was as if she had walked this street a thousand times before, yet she couldn't recall a single memory to explain why. It sent chills down her spine, a type of homesickness settling deep in the pit of her stomach.

With a furrowed brow, Lucia pressed on, determined to reach her destination, and put Cornelia Street behind her. But deep down, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about it that she just couldn't put her finger on.

 As she walked, she couldn't help but wonder what secrets it held, waiting to be discovered. But as her body shook from the cold with every step. 

She was glad to see her Mother's name light up on her phone screen moments later, glad for that voice she loved to be the one to walk her the short distance home.