All The Lost Souls
Overwhelmed
Ruby
Lethe may be the city with the highest crime rate in the country, but I have to say, the view of the sunrise through the skyline was quite spectacular. The liquid gold of the young sun’s rays illuminated the city, making me forget that this place was my Hell, just for a second.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one the northern wall of my penthouse apartment I stood and observed the city, from the buildings of the Central Business District to the suburbs on the outskirts of the city. Even though it was common fact that this city is basically buried in turmoil, gang violence, murder, rape and drug trades, the city did have its shine. Although I think my opinion may be a little biased considering I barely venture further than my apartment these days.
I glanced over at the clock, even though I knew I had nowhere to be in a hurry, it was more a just a force of habit, just a way of proving to myself that time actually was passing. It was just passing very, very slowly. For something to do, I decided to prepare myself some breakfast. I headed into my ultra-modern kitchen, full of appliances that were so shiny they had a habit of mocking me by showing me how terrible I looked these days; almost as terrible as I felt.
Naturally, the fridge was devoid of any form of sustenance. I had two options: starve or actually venture out of the apartment to get some food. The nearest food store was in the lobby of the building and even that was a challenge in itself. After what seemed like hours of deliberation, I bit the bullet and left the house.
The hallway was empty, something I was silently thanking God for. The elevator doors slid open instantly and the small cubicle was also empty. No one boarded the elevator for the entire twenty-two storey descent to the lobby. Someone was definitely on my side today. The elevator doors opened and it all went to Hell.
The lobby was abuzz with people all scurrying about to different destinations. My immediate reaction was to scream, but I bit it back. The second was to slam the CLOSE button with all the force I could muster and retreat back to the safety of my own room, but I caught control of myself and continued through the lobby. Arms folded across my chest, I steeled myself as best I could for the incoming onslaught.
“Good morning, Ms. Deveraux.”
“Hi there, Ruby.”
“Send your father my regards.”
“Have a nice day.”
The passers by gave their polite greetings to me as I moved through them, and I visibly flinched at the sounds of their voices. I tried to continue through the lobby while retaining my dignity and not go running screaming back the way I came, and my willpower was stronger than I gave myself credit for. But not strong enough; for when I bumped into a stranger I actually let out a sudden yelp of panic. The random stranger eyed me like I was crazy and continued on his way. I finally made it to the food store without totally losing it. Inside, I grabbed the bare necessities, milk, eggs, bread, bacon and cheese, for my favorite breakfast as fast as I could and almost sprinted to the counter.
The cashier began to scan the items at a snail’s pace, and after looking at his face it took every fiber of my being to repress another scream that was itching to roll off of my tongue. Finally I threw the money onto the counter, snatched the plastic bag of my purchases and hurried from the store without so much as a “thank you”.
I moved through the throng of people both as fast and inconspicuously as possible. The elevator slowly came into reach and I was inside and began the twenty-two story ascent back to the penthouse, finally calming down enough to compose myself. The elevator opened to the twenty-second floor and I had finally calmed completely and regained my composure.
I reached the penthouse door, which was already open and a maid’s cart stood motionless by the wall. I ignored it and went inside and all the composure and poise I had gained came rushing out of me like a burst dam.
“I’m sorry to enter while you weren’t here,” the small Hispanic maid said. She was standing over the kitchen counter with a dishrag in her hand and a bottle of spray-on disinfectant in the other. “I’m almost done”.
The scream escaped, the long, loud, bloodcurdling scream that surely echoed throughout the building. “GET OUT OF HERE!” I shouted “GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!”
The maid seemed surprised by my outburst and hustled out the door as fast as her legs would allow. She closed the door behind her as I, in a fit of rage, grabbed the freshly-bought carton of milk and pelted it at the closed door. After the rage subsided, despair overwhelmed me and I sank to the ground and cried in a puddle of milk.
Lethe may be the city with the highest crime rate in the country, but I have to say, the view of the sunrise through the skyline was quite spectacular. The liquid gold of the young sun’s rays illuminated the city, making me forget that this place was my Hell, just for a second.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one the northern wall of my penthouse apartment I stood and observed the city, from the buildings of the Central Business District to the suburbs on the outskirts of the city. Even though it was common fact that this city is basically buried in turmoil, gang violence, murder, rape and drug trades, the city did have its shine. Although I think my opinion may be a little biased considering I barely venture further than my apartment these days.
I glanced over at the clock, even though I knew I had nowhere to be in a hurry, it was more a just a force of habit, just a way of proving to myself that time actually was passing. It was just passing very, very slowly. For something to do, I decided to prepare myself some breakfast. I headed into my ultra-modern kitchen, full of appliances that were so shiny they had a habit of mocking me by showing me how terrible I looked these days; almost as terrible as I felt.
Naturally, the fridge was devoid of any form of sustenance. I had two options: starve or actually venture out of the apartment to get some food. The nearest food store was in the lobby of the building and even that was a challenge in itself. After what seemed like hours of deliberation, I bit the bullet and left the house.
The hallway was empty, something I was silently thanking God for. The elevator doors slid open instantly and the small cubicle was also empty. No one boarded the elevator for the entire twenty-two storey descent to the lobby. Someone was definitely on my side today. The elevator doors opened and it all went to Hell.
The lobby was abuzz with people all scurrying about to different destinations. My immediate reaction was to scream, but I bit it back. The second was to slam the CLOSE button with all the force I could muster and retreat back to the safety of my own room, but I caught control of myself and continued through the lobby. Arms folded across my chest, I steeled myself as best I could for the incoming onslaught.
“Good morning, Ms. Deveraux.”
“Hi there, Ruby.”
“Send your father my regards.”
“Have a nice day.”
The passers by gave their polite greetings to me as I moved through them, and I visibly flinched at the sounds of their voices. I tried to continue through the lobby while retaining my dignity and not go running screaming back the way I came, and my willpower was stronger than I gave myself credit for. But not strong enough; for when I bumped into a stranger I actually let out a sudden yelp of panic. The random stranger eyed me like I was crazy and continued on his way. I finally made it to the food store without totally losing it. Inside, I grabbed the bare necessities, milk, eggs, bread, bacon and cheese, for my favorite breakfast as fast as I could and almost sprinted to the counter.
The cashier began to scan the items at a snail’s pace, and after looking at his face it took every fiber of my being to repress another scream that was itching to roll off of my tongue. Finally I threw the money onto the counter, snatched the plastic bag of my purchases and hurried from the store without so much as a “thank you”.
I moved through the throng of people both as fast and inconspicuously as possible. The elevator slowly came into reach and I was inside and began the twenty-two story ascent back to the penthouse, finally calming down enough to compose myself. The elevator opened to the twenty-second floor and I had finally calmed completely and regained my composure.
I reached the penthouse door, which was already open and a maid’s cart stood motionless by the wall. I ignored it and went inside and all the composure and poise I had gained came rushing out of me like a burst dam.
“I’m sorry to enter while you weren’t here,” the small Hispanic maid said. She was standing over the kitchen counter with a dishrag in her hand and a bottle of spray-on disinfectant in the other. “I’m almost done”.
The scream escaped, the long, loud, bloodcurdling scream that surely echoed throughout the building. “GET OUT OF HERE!” I shouted “GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!”
The maid seemed surprised by my outburst and hustled out the door as fast as her legs would allow. She closed the door behind her as I, in a fit of rage, grabbed the freshly-bought carton of milk and pelted it at the closed door. After the rage subsided, despair overwhelmed me and I sank to the ground and cried in a puddle of milk.