Another day in this highly densely populated vertical city. My life revolves around shopping malls alternating with my co working office and gym. A triangle lifestyle of going to three different points on weekdays. If this is the urbanised mode of living, going from one building to the next, then I am living indoors almost the whole day. Probably as compared to trekking a hill or climbing up some cliffs, the death rate is low except for car accidents. But why do I feel so discomforted in such a safe haven?
I have a compelling urge to travel and explore the unknown territories. To drive down the roads leading up hills and right to the edge of the ocean cliffs. I want to feel uncomfortable. I want to feel challenged by my environment. But there is no mountain to climb nor ocean to see here. It’s just buildings after buildings. Food is served fast in convenience chains and franchises.
I miss my old life in Melbourne where food is served slowly, and there are endless of parks and nature to explore down trails and paths that lead to no where. I miss visiting the large pond in the university campus. It takes about half an hour to walk there but it’s worth the walk down the windy path to feed the ducks before sunset. I would meet a friend there, and she would pack extra home cooked food to share. I miss that slowness of and enjoyment of life.
Now, time is measured as money, and people are scrambling and rushing everywhere in this city. By 6pm, the lights go out and the office closes to save on electricity. The soap is automatically dispensed so that germ contamination is minimal. The public areas is cleaned multiple times a day by a throng of cleaners. It’s an OCD paradise. You probably never have to touch another human in this sterile and cold environment. The clinical aspect of this city makes me miss the warm and friendly nature of Melbournians.
I never see happy faces or smiles. Only fake polite smiles from service staff. It’s cold and distant. It’s part of city life. I don’t really like it. I feel quite foreign here. There is no realness or aliveness to anything. It’s close to being robotic. The motions are constant, the schedules do not change. It’s the same process everyday. Everything is delivered on time, precisely without any errors. It’s voted one of the best cities in the world, one of the most expensive even. But there are no humans here, only robots.
I feel a need to go into the jungle and get lost in the unknown. That is probably a more natural state of being human, is to go on a constant adventure and not know what you are in for. Not sterile robotic utopia. I believe in the organic development of creativity, not government imposed rules and regulations to meet requirements to be “innovative”. That, stifles creations. Creativity should grow naturally like plants in a forest, and not in an artificial greenhouse with added fertilizer. Being in a greenhouse kills the plants state to evolve. In the wild however, they can mutate, they can cross propagate, they can become hybrids.
I feel I am an exception to the norm of this city, I am a wild plant in this greenhouse. But it’s stifling and I feel breathless at times. It is true that it is as safe as a haven it can get with such sterile standards, but the lack of the unknown makes me dull and dream about my next road trip although I had barely landed. I don’t seem to take root in this city. I am like a drifter in the clouds, in the cloud virtual space, floating, floating. I can’t seem to settle or germinate. It’s an endless state of being lost in transition.
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AVERRAL writes under pen name Scarlet Risqué. She stars in Scarlet Queen YouTube with over a million views. She holds a degree in business. The RED HOURGLASS is ranked Top 50 Espionage Thriller on Amazon. She is currently writing the sequels to the Hourglass Series. Grab a free copy of her novel now RED HOURGLASS on Amazon |
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