Tranquil Twilight
A girl finding her place in a new city
Part One
We start this story like many others: in a cold winter, following a girl who just moved to a new city. The city was filled with
bright lights and exciting opportunities, but the girl was completely lost, out of her depth with no idea what to do. She had an
apartment in one of the older parts of town; close to the city centre but far out enough to avoid the worst of the bustle and noise
of city goers.
Helps that it’s in an older building with thicker walls and up on the 4th floor, she thinks as she gathers up her winter coat and trainers.
The girl liked it for the nostalgic vibes it gave off, with its exposed red bricks, slightly slanted ceiling, and variety of
plants that came with the place. Apparently while looking for a new tenant, the owner kept the plants watered, which the girl took
as a hopeful sign that the landlord was at least moderately nice.
As long as he’s nice enough to keep the rent cheap.
Looking around for her wallet and house keys, she spies her laptop, debating whether to take it with her. The girl reflects on her
freelance work, relieved that such an insecure job has so far been able to keep up with her expenses. While she’s been a favourite of a
local magazine as a columnist and occasional illustrator, she’s had periods of controversy that led to hiatuses without pay.
The girl winces, recalling last summer.
Evidently criticising the newspaper’s owner for manipulation of facts wasn’t the best idea.
But she learned to avoid that if possible... hopefully...
Now dear reader, you may be wondering, how is this girl lost? Well, while her new idyllic apartment and more lax work are nothing to be
scoffed at, she’s still missing something. Her old town in the suburbs didn’t lend itself well to those seeking a social life, particularly
for those in her generation. This left her somewhat isolated, both socially and geographically. Her move to the city was motivated in large
part by this, hoping that amidst the bustle she could find a community to call her own. She wasn’t quite sure what form this would take,
but knew it had to be somewhere.
If only I could find it, the girl sighed, watching her breath intertwine against the bitter cold as she closed her apartment building’s door.
Witnessing the last remains of her sigh vanish into the air, she turned towards the lights of the city centre, and started to wander.
Part Two
Right. Left. Straight. Right. Left. Left. Straight. Left.
Am I going left too many times? Maybe a couple rights should be next.
The girl explored the nearby streets in archaic fashion, selecting directions at random while praying she wouldn’t loop back by mistake.
She didn’t recognise the landmarks well enough yet to know where she was going without looking at a map, but maps felt like cheating to her.
Besides, I’m exploring. Following a map on my phone’s pointless when I don’t know where I’m going, she thought to herself, attempting to
justify her odd habit.
Stepping around puddles on the ground, she tried to map out in her head where she did know where to go.
The magazine office, albeit much of that journey being via tram. The local grocery stores. A couple nearby clothing shops. A museum she
had read about prior to moving here.
Aaaaaaand that’s about it. This doesn’t even mention that many of these places are all in the same direction, meaning one could leapfrog
from one to the other, which doesn’t help much in learning the wider city layout. Her dismay at this realisation is audible, as she groans
to no one in particular. She notices a couple passers-by responding to her groan with funny looks before darting her eyes to the ground,
back to scanning around for puddles to avoid. As she walks, the girl watches the lights of shopfronts and cars dance around in the puddles
like artificial multicoloured fireflies; each puddle a new mesmerising cacophony of colours. The girl watches one particularly large colony
of these lights before a car drives right through it, snapping her back to reality. She gives the puddle one last glance, the dancing lights
replaced with tangles of ripples, and continues her stroll.
As the girl wanders, she notices the buildings getting taller and more modern, the brick and limestone being replaced with glass and
concrete. In the area around her apartment, the buildings reach up to five or six floors, whereas the structures here tower far above that
now-pitiful height. Some smaller buildings struggle to remain, but are either surrounded by or have even been built on top of by these high
rises. Awkward transitions between the two styles of architecture become noticeable with these hybrids, the matte stones contrasting against
the modern glass reflecting nearby bright lights. Large glass walls of office towers allow views into worlds of desks and ceiling tiles,
while the bricks of older buildings hiding whatever varied alternate dimensions lay behind them. Only the comparatively-tiny sash windows
of these homes give a glimpse into who lives in them, but the girl does her best not to start staring into other people’s windows. She won’t
find what she’s looking for by nosing in on random citypeople’s homes, not that she’s entirely sure what she’s looking for. The girl starts
to wonder if she chose a bad time to explore as she looks up to see the blue of the evening sky being replaced with the darkness of night.
A sharp wind reminds her of the cold, apparently so lost in thought that she had entirely forgotten about it. Shifting her coat around her,
she plants her hands in its thick pockets and trudges on. The cold has given her a target to search for, even if a simple one and unlikely
to help in her wider goal. A hot drink to warm her up, and somewhere to sit and rest her legs while she shelters from the crisp winter air.
It’s rather fortuitous, I like to think anyway, how fate had a solution in store for the girl. For in this cold winter night, among the
lights of the big city, she stumbled upon just what she needed.
Tranquil Twilight.
She read the sign in front of her. The sign, shining a faint but noticeable blue, was attached to a limestone brick building of the same
name. The building was under threat of being absorbed by a glass tower surrounding it above and on one side, with its one free side
defiantly helping the smaller building maintain its identity. Large pane windows gave a clear view inside the building, tables and chairs
scattered around most of the floor, with a bar topped with various metal contraptions and mugs keeping the tables from complete domination.
One wall was almost entirely green, with closer inspection revealing the green belonging to varying plants, but from the outside it was hard
to tell if they were fake or real. She could see two figures inside, one with a brown shirt and white apron behind the counter fiddling with
one of the aforementioned metal contraptions, and the other figure sitting at a table near the bar.
It’s from that table where I watched the girl slowly approach the cafe, almost mesmerised or in a trance. It seemed like something was
drawing her to this place, guiding her hand to the door handle to give her the courage to enter. As she glanced around the room, our eyes
briefly met, and I gave a small smile before pretending to look back at my laptop, not wanting to intimidate the new visitor, but curious
enough about her to keep my attention on her from the corner of my eye. The girl meekly sat at the bar, beginning to talk to the barista,
who took her order and flashed the faintest of nods towards me before turning their attention back to the girl. We evidently both had the
same thought; that the girl needed to find this place. She needed Tranquil Twilight.