A New Life in a New City

She was heading towards the bus station when she heard the boom of thunder overheard and felt the first droplets of rain falling. She held her jacket above her for coverage as the rain began to fall more steadily, the rhythmic patter of the drops propelling her more quickly towards the station. 

She knew what rainfall symbolized; she had read about it countless times in classic pieces of literature. It was symbolic of rebirth, rejuvenation, the start of a new life. It made her hopeful that she would find her new life upon arrival in her new city. But, being knowledgeable of symbols in literature as she was, she also knew that rain and thunder stood for sickness, impending doom, sometimes even death. Maybe the rain wasn’t such a good sign after all. 

“Jade,” she heard a voice cry behind her, and turned around to see her sister chasing her down the street. 

“Dani!” Jade hissed, pulling her under the cover of a nearby building to avoid the pouring rain. “What are you doing here?”

“Please don’t go,” Dani said, and there was water running down her face. Jade couldn’t tell if it was from the rain or her own eyes. 

“I’m sorry to leave, Dani, I really am, but I just graduated high school. I can’t live at home anymore; I need to get out. See things. Do things.”

“Then can I come with you?” Dani asked, and the sadness in her voice almost broke Jade’s heart. “Please. I can’t stay at home with Mom and Dad anymore, I just can’t.”

“You know how badly I wish that you could come with me,” Jade said, resting a hand on her little sister’s shoulder. “But you need to stay here and finish high school. Don’t worry, you’ll be out soon enough.” She pulled Dani in for a quick, tight hug. 

The distant horn of an incoming bus made Jade release her sister. “I’ll keep in touch. I love you,” Jade said, and ran towards the station without a second glance back. 

Jade felt the weight of guilt threatening to pull her under as she watched the countryside pass by through the foggy window. She had lived in a rural town with a population of three thousand people at most for her entire life, and she was finally able to leave now that she had graduated high school, but the thought of leaving her sister behind made her heart ache. 

Jade’s family was not exactly the most functional of families. Her parents were still together and Jade and her sister lived with them, but their mom was an alcoholic and their dad couldn’t hold a job. They were always short on money, and Jade had never been anywhere in the world besides their small rural town. For the entirety of her senior year of high school, she had been saving up money to purchase herself a bus ticket and a few month’s worth of rent in the city- New York City, to be precise. She had dreamed about it a countless number of times, but now that her dream was becoming a reality, she couldn’t help but feel a pressing guilt at leaving her sister behind. She didn’t have a choice though. Dani needed to stay and finish out high school. There was nothing to do about that. 

Jade leaned her head against the cold window and shut her eyes. In just a few hours, she would be living her dream. 

Jade was awakened by the screeching of the bus’s brakes. She looked around, disoriented, watching the other passengers grabbing their bags and moving towards the front of the bus. Realizing where she was, she hopped up and glanced eagerly out the window, sucking in a breath at the sight before her. Towering skyscrapers, streets packed full of people and cars, horns honking. She was overwhelmed just by the sight of it. It was unlike anything she had seen in her whole life. Her little town in the countryside was nothing compared to the enormity of New York City. She wanted to run through the streets with her arms out, wanted to relish in the feel of people. Lots of people, more than she’d ever seen in one place. 

She hastily grabbed her bags and pushed her way to the front of the bus, eager to get off. She stepped onto the concrete beneath her and sucked in a breath of city air. The sky was blue, the sun bright and shining. She felt an overwhelming relief at being somewhere new, being able to start a new life. She couldn’t wait to get started. 

Jade’s first night in New York was spent in a cheap, old hotel while she was searching for apartments and jobs. She was still filled with that same eagerness that she had felt upon arrival in the city, but now it was dying down as the reality of the situation was setting in- she had come to the city with practically nothing, only money to help her survive for a few months, clothes, and toiletries. She needed to get a job and apartment as soon as possible. She would have rent to pay and groceries to buy. 

Technicalities aside, Jade was filled with excitement at the idea of her new life in this city. A new start. New people to meet, new things to see and do. Everything in her life was so new. 

Jade was running down the hotel stairs towards the lobby when she collided into a body and toppled sideways. The person dropped their briefcase which exploded upon impact, papers flying through the air. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jade said, flustered, as she helped the person pick up the scattered papers. “I’m clumsy. I should’ve looked where I was going.” A stack of papers in hand, she stood up to face the person, and was taken by surprise. Facing her was a woman in her early twenties, who had dark skin and black curly hair, bright lipstick and makeup, and a soft smile. Not only was the woman beautiful, but she looked powerful, too; briefcase in hand, wearing a black, pressed suit and tan stilettos. 

“No worries,” the woman said, her mouth still curved in a friendly smile. “I’m Maia. And you are?”

“Jade,” she answered, still with Maia’s papers in her hand. 

“Nice to meet you, Jade. You must be new here; I think I’ve seen about every face in this hotel by now. And I certainly would’ve remembered yours if I had seen it.” 

Jade flushed an even darker shade than she must have already been. 

“Yeah, I’m new. Just graduated high school and moved out here. Today is my first day in the city.” And Jade went on to explain her situation to Maia- where she had come from, what she was doing in the city. And Maia explained her situation to Jade- how she had grown up just outside the city, graduated college early, and had been immensely successful in business and had risen to the top. 

The two women continued to chat as they made their way out into the city. Maia was going to show Jade around, they had decided, and Jade was excited to have made her first friend. Maybe she wouldn’t have to be so lonely after all. 

After about a month of living in New York, Jade was finally situated. She had found a small apartment for fairly cheap rent, a stable job, a lasting friendship. She and Maia did everything together; went to see plays, went to museums, went shopping, watched movies… the list goes on. Though Jade never wanted to admit it to herself, she was terrified of not being able to make friends when she had arrived in New York. Bumping into Maia on the staircase of the hotel (which, Jade had later found out, Maia lived in for an extremely cheap price because her brother owned it) was a miracle in disguise. 

One day after work, Jade walked into the hotel lobby and was making her way towards the staircase. She was planning on heading up to Maia’s room; the last they had seen each other was a couple of days ago, and Maia had said that she had a copy of a book that Jade was itching to read. Jade decided to make a trip to see her friend and collect the book, but as she was making her way towards the stairs, a figure stepped in front of her. A very tall figure, muscular and dark-skinned. 

“Hi,” he said, his face somber. “I’m Maia’s brother, Chris. You must be Jade. Were you on the way up to see her?”

“Yes,” Jade replied, perplexed. “I was going to pick up a copy of a book from her.”

Chris reached inside the pocket of his jacket and revealed a book- worn and tattered, but obviously very loved. “It must be this. Maia left it to me.” He held the book out to Jade. She reached for it slowly, confused by the seriousness of his face and tone. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Maia doesn’t live here anymore.”

“Oh, well, where does she live now? I could’ve just dropped by there to pick up the book.” 

“I’m sorry, you misunderstand me. Maia doesn’t live here anymore. Not only the hotel, but New York. Her company transferred her to California. She left a note for you. It’s tucked inside that book.” 

Jade stood speechless, staring blankly at Chris. He was lying; there was no other explanation. Maia wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye, would she?

“I’m sorry,” Chris said. “It was nice to meet you. Better get back to my job now.” And Jade stood alone, watching as Chris walked away. 

Back at her apartment, Jade opened the cover of the book and a note fluttered softly to the floor. Jade picked it up and opened it to reveal Maia’s smooth handwriting. 

Dear Jade, it began. I’m sorry to leave like this. I’m just not good at goodbyes. I hope you found Chris and he delivered the copy of my book to you. If you did find him, I’m sure he also told you that I had to move to California for work. San Francisco, to be precise. I have so dearly enjoyed our adventures in the city together over the past month. I hope that you can find someone new to visit all of the museums with, to go shopping with, to watch musicals and movies with. I hope you are able to get everything out of this city that you have ever wished for.  I will miss you, and I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

Warmest wishes,

Maia

A week had gone by since Maia had left, and Jade did not feel any less lonely than she did the first moment that she read Maia’s note. She walked through the streets alone to work every day. She typically walked alone to work anyway, but now that her only friend had left her without so much as a hug goodbye, she truly felt alone. 

It was raining. The hood of Jade’s raincoat was pulled over her head as she was heading to work. She couldn’t help but remember walking through the rain towards the bus station when she was leaving her hometown for the city. She recalled how excited she was. She had imagined the rain was symbolizing her new life in a new place. Now, as she walked through the rain, she couldn’t help but think that despite the swarms of people walking around her, despite the population of people on her apartment block, let alone the whole city, she had never been so utterly alone.