City Taylor

you never know what awaits you

but you know you must lean into it

it will swallow you

but growing is a lot like

turning on the light

when the blackness

is suffocating

so you can see

the new room

on the other side

#city

Chapter 1

There was a woman named Sarah sitting alone at the edge of a long bar. Old enough to drink, just not old enough to rent a car. She can be seen rubbing her ankles, one leg resting high up on a barstool. She appeared to be regretful of something, but she herself couldn’t quite see why. A small drink was placed on a white napkin neatly in front of her. It was amber, fizzy.

“Whiskey coke.”

Sarah smiled as the bartender finally made his way to her. They locked eyes, and he nodded, beginning to search along the shelves for the house brand.

There was lively chatter in the bar that night. The spot is nothing too fancy. It wasn’t quite your average dive, though. There was local art strewn around, and old signs that hinted at a weekly open-mic. You could see by the monikers of the local scene that it was a fan-favorite for regulars. Adorned bathroom stalls with Sharpie, polaroids behind the bar. Sarah felt like she could escape here. Though the atmosphere seemed to be a connected story, she felt like she didn’t play a role. She enjoyed that.

Sarah rested her feet after feeling relief from the walk from her small townhouse down the street. Being on your feet often can have its perks. Get to eat more, better energy. The only downside for her was walking alone at night. There was always a prick on the back of her neck. A fear that transposed itself over her head, clouding her judgement. Empty alleyways where anything could come out of. Yet, despite the possibilities behind endless… There was always a negative connotation.

As Sarah placed her hands around the glass, she found herself gazing across the room, subconsciously searching for anyone she might recognize. She placed the glass to her lips and took a rather large swig. The thick caramel, lined with smoke and chilly freezing bubbles, sloshed down her throat rather oddly, and she gulped it down. She put her hand to her chest to keep herself steady. She coughed a bit, too, and peered around again, hoping nobody had noticed. She felt a tension rise in her body and immediately pulled out her phone in response. A safeguard of sorts. A habitual easy access off switch from the social scene. She peered through her Instagram page. Photos of friends, idols she enjoyed. She had no notifications to beeen.

Sarah ended up staying on her phone for a while. Two more drinks on the docket. It was around an hour of peeking down at random posts and peering upwards to make small talk with the bartender. After a few, she felt like she could have a conversation.

There was always at least one person to talk to here. Whether it was about art, lost dreams, or a shitty relationship. Sarah liked to listen. It gave her a chance to enter someone else’s world beyond hers. A perfect specimen had just walked up beside her. A young guy with a septum ring and thick-rimmed glasses. He was wearing these burgundy cowboy boots, which immediately caught her attention.

“Nice boots.” She spoke with a sweet cadence, softly poking him on his right shoulder.

He appeared not to have noticed. He wasn’t standing next to anyone, nor was he already engaged with the bartender. She tried again.

“Hey, nice boots!” She resounded again, a little louder, trying to keep herself approachable.

This time, he tilted his head to the side slightly, a blank face and a nod was all she was given, and he immediately turned back towards the front. This was a bit aggravating to her, so she immediately swiveled her chair around to view a wide window to her right. It was a gaping mouth for citizens to view from outside. Like if a fishbowl had one glass pane like a TV screen. She ended up indulging in more drinks, the silence inbetween intoxicated moments was rather deafening. The bartender obliged her. She was still alone, though, but six drinks perhaps was enough. She waved him away when he asked if she’d like another. Feeling a weight lifted from her chest, and sitting deeply in her intoxication, she slips her phone out once more. What showed up on the first picture shocked her so bad she shifted over in her seat, just not enough to fall off. The crowd had increased exponentially since she’d been there. Music had started to pick up as well, many people opting to dance around in whatever space was available.

The picture was of her, with long blonde hair instead of her brunette. She was with a few other girls, four others to make five. They were each wearing frilly, color-coded outfits with technological influencer. High tech super powered maids. While that’s one way to refer to them, the correct name for them would be “Magical Girls.”

Sarahs face contorted, twisting in on itself in agitation. She flipped the photo away with quickness, regretting she had even opened the app in the first place.

She set her phone face down on the counter and pulled her back straight. There was a reason she was, out at a bar alone. It was to… forget. Forget she’s been all day. Forget her house. Forget. The alcohol had started to kick in at this point, and with this, and now thoughts spiraling in her head… She decided to order another drink.

A younger girl, with I.D in hand had found herself at the front of the counter, shimmering with glee. She looked over to Sarah and her smile nearly blinded her. Sarah perked up at this, as she just about to wave the bartender down once more, as he had begun to approach the other woman already.

“I loveee this fit.” She gleamed.

They ended up sharing a drink together, or two. Sarah did nothing but ask her questions and listened. Boyfriend, new to town, the works. It was quite ostentatious, freeing. Until the girl brought up something she had seen, and now being on her 8th drink or so, the boundaries that held her back had been blown to smithereens.

“Look at this shit.”

There was a slur in her words, and narry a person around besides her best friend for the night She fumbled her smartphone out of her purse, tapping the code to unlock it furiously.

“I promise. I promisseee.” She strained her voice.

“My friends. We fought monsters and shit. “ She added.

The girl next to her, who’s name was probably Angie? Angela? She couldn’t remember at this point; Furrowed her brow. A drink swished in her right hand while her neck craned to the left to view the contents of the phone.

“The hell you mean monsters? Like cryptids?” Her voice was nearly hidden beneath the music that blared through the speakers around them. She didn’t seem to mind. They had been speaking for quite nearly an hour now, and they were probably the only two people in the room not caught in the whisk of the night.

The girl holding the phone twisted her head upwards in annoyance, unable to hide her scowl.

“No. Those aren’t even real. They were called-” She paused for a second, pursing her lips and gazing upwards.

In the haze, the toxins flowing her brain… she couldn’t grasp the things she’d been avoiding. It scared her. How could she forget what they were called? The…creatures. The monsters she knew so well. So well, in fact, that she had memorized each step they’d take. The rhythmic movements they’d use to combat her. How she’d pull up her hand, pulling the power from her heart…But in this moment, it hadne’t come to her. Probably because she had been drinking. Which is why she even brought it up in the first place. There was a tug at her heart.

As if they had never been acquainted, the girl slipped away as Sarah began to spiral downwards, finding her way out into the midst of the lake of civilians, bar-hoppers, and god knows who else. When Sarah finally came to a guess as to what they were, she looked upwards to find that the girl had gone. Sarah pushed her hair by the sides of her ears and swiftly grabbed her purse. ‘I must have been here too long…’ A voice called out, a feminine voice, one that could barely be picked up from a crowd tapped at her shoulder. She chose to ignore it, waving goodbye to her other best friend for the night, the bartender. Stepping out the door she was then swiftly grasped at the top of her shoulder. She spun counterclockwise around to face her assailant.

“Sarah!”

A familiar face?

There were people outside smoking cigarettes under the lights of the establishment. Neon green lettering of the local dive. “Chips House.” For a lowly dive, the people gathered around spouting crisp smoke gave it a ‘cool’ atmosphere. 4/5 on Yelp at best for college graduates.

She spun around mostly in fear, in anticipation of it being some wiry male trying to hit his lick. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to take him, it’d been years since she…

Instead of a man, but not offering any more reprieve was none other than her co-worker, Aubry. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she opened her mouth to try to smile, but the surprise on her face couldn’t be hidden either.

“Did you not hear me? What are you doing here?!”

if you like homestuck and madoka magica you will like my story :) it's on instagram! like a social mediag page: so u dont have to read a book.