Before

1 0 0
                                    

Have you ever seen New York City? The Union Square in Manhattan, to be exact. If you haven't, you've at least heard things about it, right? Like from that one guy at work that lives with his mother at the age of 37, who has SWORN he's gone, but..strangely doesn't have any pictures or souvenirs. Or stories from your most loving, and awesome but most basic 'best friend', who goes there every winter and comes back claiming she's a "Whole new person!" But after a couple weeks goes back to being her old self, but a little more sad than usual. 

No matter who you hear it from, whether if it's from someone who actually knows what their talking about or someone who dreams about leaving their dull hometown and actually going, there's something that they all talk about. The big, bright, flashing lights of several things at nighttime. From passing cars that are either trying to rush to work or are trying to rush home for sleep. A shop's annoying buzzing "NOW OPEN" signs, alerting that you should definitely come in and spend all your money on food, gifts, and other useless things that you'll lose on the fly back home. The flash from tourists' cellphones, taking pictures and videos of memories that will last them a lifetime, or will at least make all their home-bound friends jealous on their Facebook and Instagram. 

Have you ever walked down a heavily populated and busy street and smelled so many different things that your brain just couldn't comprehend a single, individual one? Sweet scents on one corner, because it's near a huge and popular candy shop called "Sugar Crash", where all the kids go after school with their leftover lunch money, ruining their dinner and their teeth with the sweets that are abundant with sugars, acids, and other scary sounding things that like to rot your teeth. At the next corner it smells incredibly sour, because it's the one that has busier more crowded sidewalks and every time you take a deep breath through your nose all you can smell and taste is the group of guys next to you that look nice but smell like they've never heard of a bar of soap before and decided to roll in sweaty gym socks and beer and call it a night. The longer and further you walk the more you can experience. 

Have you ever heard the conversations between old friends? Talking about how they're so happy they finally got together after what felt like forever and they start to plan on what they're going to doing tonight. Or laughs, from the usual, shy couples on their first dates? Some playing the 21 questions game, just trying to know each other or just trying to find something to talk about. The girl trying not to laugh about how the guy's favorite animal is an possum. How about the yelling, from those random businessmen getting onto the overly crowded bus? What he's yelling about, no one knows. But it sounds pretty serious? The kind of serious like someone is about to get fired. Or that disgusting sneezing, from a person that looks like they're carrying every disease you could probably name off the top of your head as you try to stay as far away fro them as possible. Then the sound of crying, from that tired child clinging onto who must be their mother and being carried on their way home after a long day at the park? 

If you haven't, you're missing out. Especially since New York hasn't been that way it forever. You'll probably never be able to see it again. Not unless things change around here. If things don't change but you still want to see New York's beauty, you may be able to see it with the secret photos that everyone hides. But everything you just imagined...Of the big lights, the array of smells and the overwhelming sounds...Forget about it..

Actually...Remember it.. I want you to see how everything got the way it is now. And how is everything is going to get much worse.


~~~~~~

Just to note, I have no idea where this story is going. I write whenever I have time (which isn't a lot) but I will if I can.

Give ideas and constructive criticism if you want. Maybe you can help me build the story.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: May 04, 2018 ⏰

Add this story to your Library to get notified about new parts!

ContinuingWhere stories live. Discover now