Welcome to the City
996 Words
“I don’t know yet. But I’m here. And that has to count for something.”
On Wednesday morning, Lana packed a few things into two old suitcases. She had already called the agent she planned to rent out the house, not sell it. Selling it felt too final. Apart from a few family photographs, that house held the last intact memories she had of her parents. Memories that still clung to every corner of the old walls. She couldn't let go of it, not completely.
Tomorrow, she and Maddie would start a new life in the city. She wasn’t sure what waited for them there, but she only had one wish to get the job.
If she could land that position, everything would fall into place. Or at least that was what she told herself anytime doubts tried to creep in.
Wednesday Morning
“Maddie! Let’s go! I don’t want us to miss the first bus.”
“Hmmm,” Maddie grumbled from beneath the covers.
“Did you sleep at all?” Lana asked, peeking into the room.
“Yes, I slept well,” Maddie mumbled, not fully convincing.
Truthfully, Lana hadn’t slept much either. Anxiety had kept her tossing and turning all night. The weight of a new beginning sat heavy on her chest.
A few duffel bags, two old suitcases, and one very determined older sister clutching her sister’s hand. Lana sat outside Amira’s apartment building with Maddie dozing on her shoulder, already tired from the trip, and for the first time in what felt like forever, her heart wasn’t in survival mode.
They had made it.
She adjusted Maddie’s head a little.
“There she is!” Amira beamed, wrapping Lana in a tight hug before pulling her inside. “Come on, come on. You look like you just walked out of a hurricane.”
“I feel like it too,” Lana muttered, managing a small smile. “You sure about this?”
Amira scoffed. “Lana, we’ve known each other since we were seven. I’ve seen you cry over losing a pencil. You think I can’t handle a little co-guidance and emotional support?”
Lana laughed. A real one this time.
Amira had been her best friend since elementary school from walking home together to marathon sleepovers, to their families eventually becoming close. Even when Amira and her family relocated before Lana's parents died, they still kept in touch. No matter what, the bond never faded.
Now, they were here again older, bruised by life, but still standing. Lana and Maddie had settled into the guest room modest but warm, and exactly what they needed.
“So,” Amira said, giving her a pointed look, “are we talking about last night, or am I just supposed to pretend you didn’t text me at 2 a.m. saying you kissed a stranger in a bar?”
Lana groaned. “Ugh. Do we have to talk about that?”
“Yes, we do. Spill it. Every detail, Lana, come on.”
I told Amira about my handsome stranger and how he had disappeared before I woke up the next morning but I didn’t tell her about the card.
Lana stared into her tea. “He was… different. Arrogant, yes. But not pushy. He didn’t ask for anything. Just sat there, made me laugh, and bought me a whiskey I couldn’t afford. He didn’t even ask for my number.”
Amira blinked. “Okay… so not a creeper. That’s good. But you kissed him?”
“I don’t even know how it happened. One second we were joking, the next…” she sighed. “I think I just needed to feel… something other than rejection. I just wanted to feel something.”
Amira nodded, her tone softening. “I get it. But Lana… are you okay?”
“I don’t know yet. But I’m here. And that has to count for something.”
“I told you not to date him, Nate, that f*cking pedo!” she snapped.
We were talking about my ex-boyfriend now.
“He isn’t a pedo!” I shot back.
“But you were just seventeen, Lana, and he was twenty-four. He took advantage of you. Don’t you get it?”
I let out a sigh. Funny how I was still defending him. First love theory? Maybe.
“I’m sorry for not being there for you, Lana,” Amira said, her voice softer now as she pulled me in for a hug.
We switched topics to the interview, which was to take place on Friday.
“An interview on a Friday?”
“Yeah, we work all days of the week,” she replied with a shrug.
I took a better look at Amira.
She looked good. Confident. Put together. She even had that quiet glow people seemed to carry when things were finally working out. I couldn’t help but wonder what that felt like and how it felt for things to fall into place.
“My workplace is a bit far, though,” Amira continued. “And trust me, you don’t want to be late. The CEO is... scary. The good kind of scary. Super disciplined.”
“Great,” I muttered under my breath.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Amira said with a grin.
“I thought you lived with your parents?”
“Nah,” Amira replied. “I've been on my own for a while. They relocated again a year ago. I stayed behind for work.”
“You and Maddie can share the bed, or if you need a break from each other, Maddie can take the couch or you can always sleep in my room instead.”
We laughed.
That night, after unpacking, I took a long bath and collapsed into bed. Maddie was already asleep. My body ached from the traveling, but my mind couldn’t stop racing.
L City felt like a second chance. But it was also terrifying.
- Writer
