All the footprints you've ever left and the fear expecting ahead (Ch I, part 1)

Chapter I, part 1 -[Awaken eyes]-

There are things that are widely regarded as being enjoyable. For example, spending a peaceful evening with someone you hold dear, drinking a cup of your favourite warm drink while looking at the falling snow through your window early in the morning or riding a bicycle in the summer breeze. Many people like these things around the world, and the girl that was pedaling on the small country road sure did.

Under a sky so blue it looked like it had been painted the day before, she was following a road that was slowly invaded by nature. Since the highway was build, and she was still a little kid at the time, no one seemed to use the old road, and the local authorities didn't see it as a priority, so here it was, slowly turning into a ruin, as if mankind had vanished and the Earth was removing all traces it had left. But she liked the peaceful atmosphere of the road, and used it to go from the small town where she lived to the high school she attended. Her friends didn't understand why she didn't take the bus like they were doing, but she didn't care. She preferred to use her bike to follow the abandonned road.



But, today, she didn't really care about the scenery. Her small backpack contained what her thoughts were fixed upon : a small box in which sat the various pieces of hardware that would let her connect to the Internet. Finally, after all these months, she had convinced her parents that it was a good idea, and now all they had to do was to connect their computer to the world wide web using what she had bought earlier in the town's computer store, then wait for the telecom company to activate their connection. They said it would probably take a week. At first, she thought it was nothing.

Now, she knew it would be the longest week she had ever known.

But at least she knew she wouldn't have to go to the public library to surf the web, and that feeling was making the art student smile. She was going quite fast, and with her long blond hair flying in the breeze and the bright smile on her face, she was a perfect personification of happiness. Jessie - that was her name - was oblivious to her surroundings. At last, to connect to the Internet...

But little did she know how much can Internet change one's life. She would learn that, in time, but for now her mind was singing, and the world seemed to sing with it.

Chapter I, part 1 -[End]-

Picture credit : alextakesphotos

All the footprints you've ever left and the fear expecting ahead (Prelude)

Prelude -[Tales]-

The sun was setting now, bathing the city in light as if it were burning. The skyscrappers soared to the sky as usual, and nothing seemed to disturb the fragile peace that moment of the day always brought to the landscape. On the top of one of the largest buildings, there was someone. A boy, who looked like millions of other boys of his age, the age at which one is not a teenager anymore, but still can't think of himself as an adult.



His hair was being toyed with by the wind, but he didn't seemed to care. Oblivious of everything around him, he was staring into the distance, lost in the sound coming out from the big pair of headphones he was wearing. The songs had gained meaning now, they were more than the sonic background of his life, like they were some weeks ago. Now, every note brought a memory to his mind, sometimes making him smile, sometimes almost bringing him to tears.

And he looked weary. If one was to watch him closely, his silhouette would have shown subtle signs of tiredness. Not only did the boy looked strangely tired, the eyes that were projecting his gaze far off into the distance were full of that experience you can usually find in those of older men.

But let us quietly leave the rooftop, and let him be. To know why this boy was looking at the cityscape with eyes that seemed to have seen far too much, there are other places that must be visited. Other tales that have to be told. Only then will you be able to fully understand.

Prelude -[End]-

Picture credit : taishi