A Tale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, I woke up to the sound of birds singing. Instinctively, I looked out the window, which I routinely left open to wake up with the sunrise and the chirping of birds. However, it was the worst of times, I was no longer in Phalopia, my homeland, where real birds frequented my window, but in Hibernum, where I had been living for over 10 years. The sound of the birds was artificial, coming from speakers embedded in the ceiling, which I couldn’t turn off. At least I could choose which alarm I wanted, and the sound of the birds kept my old routine partially alive. The window was closed, fortunately, due to the freezing outside temperatures, but the blinds were open, allowing the lights from the LED advertising panels in the nearest square to pass through. It was 5 am, and I preferred not to look at what the thermometer read. It would make no difference, as usual, I probably wouldn't go outdoors that day, straight from the lodging to the cafeteria, and in less than 15 minutes to the factory floor, where I would spend 9 hours a day, six days a week. At least there were regular breaks for peeing and snacking.

It was the spring of hope, I had arrived still young and hopeful in Hibernum, the imposing Capital of our Empire. When I got off the train at the Southern Cross Station, I was impressed by the vast art-deco atrium and the shiny Abrulia marble walls, whose stones, according to legend, were brought centuries ago on the backs of elephants during the short summer of the Imperial District. A pair of elephants were displayed in the first local zoo, and their lineage would allegedly be still exposed there today. The others, of course, were sacrificed, and their meat served to the Empress's dogs, while the starving population crowded at the palace gates. The passengers hurried through the station hall, the vast majority very well dressed, in designer clothes from the capital’s fashion houses, while the guards ensured that the crowd of beggars gathered at the station entrance did not enter the main hall or insolently disturb the well-bred passengers. Even the beggars here were different, however, better dressed than the ragged and stinking hobos of Phalopia, perhaps because of the capital's cold, and certainly more polite, probably because of the guards.

According to the instructions received by email, I was to report to the Industrial Company's office at the station itself, from where I would be sent to the factory lodging, and I would start working the very next morning. I was completely lost in the middle of that crowd and looked for someone who seemed like an authority to give me some help. Maybe the guard who was leaning on a wall at the end of the platform, playing around with his smartphone. I asked:

"Good afternoon, sir, could you tell me where the Industrial Company office is?"

Without raising his face from the smartphone, the guard retorted:

"I’m busy now, pal. My job is to protect the public, not to give any information."

"But sir, I just arrived from the province of Gillen, and I'm a bit lost."

"I noticed by the accent. There’s an information desk in the lobby, ask there."

"Thank you, sir," I thanked the guard but received no response from him.

He hadn’t said where the information desk was exactly, and the lobby was huge. I wandered aimlessly through the hall, not daring to ask anyone else for directions. I couldn’t find the information desk, but after about 15 minutes, I ended up finding the company’s office.

The salary in Hibernum was quite high, more than double what I had previously earned in Phalopia for an equivalent position. I didn't see much future in my homeland, the local economy was faltering, and there were few opportunities outside the tourism sector. I had ambitions that didn't fit the province. My initial plans were to spend just a few months in the lodging, while looking for an apartment in the city, preferably to share with some pretty girl I would eventually meet. After a few years, I would have saved enough money to set up my own restaurant in Phalopia, where I could make a mint serving pricey local food to the tourists from the Capital. However, my salary would be generous only in Phalopia, but not considering the Capital's cost of living. I ended up staying in the company’s lodging all those years, but at least I moved to a single room in the first and only promotion I received. I went to the Capital's city centre a few times to admire the main tourist attractions, like the rather disappointing Imperial Palace and the world-famous Glass Tower, but only from the outside, naturally, as I could not afford the entrance tickets. The novelty wore off after a few visits, and I rarely ventured down there lately. As for the girl I hoped to meet, my status as an immigrant from the province of Gillen did not favour romantic encounters, except in the numerous local brothels, where I spent most of my money, mainly with my fellow Gilleners. What little cash was left, I squandered in the city's illegal casinos, hoping to strike it big and shorten my stay in Hibernum. This luck, however, never came, but the debts did. I had to abandon the brothels and casinos, fearing the loan sharks, but at least I managed to pay off everything I owed after some long dreadful years, and I even managed to save about 7.000 Hibernian crowns. I had no concrete plans to return for good any time soon; the saved amount wasn't nearly enough to set up my restaurant. Nevertheless, it was the winter of despair, some shocking news shook me and made me reconsider my life.

When I left work that day, I was allowed to turn on my smartphone, as usual, and saw a message from a close cousin, with whom I kept sporadic contact: "Call me, it's urgent, about your parents." I called him immediately, of course,

"Hi, cousin." he answered.

"Tell me right away, man, what happened?" I said hastily.

"I don’t know how to tell you this... your parents had a serious accident. Your mother... she’s in a coma. And your father... well, he didn’t make it and passed away..."

"What?" - I couldn't even cry from disbelief - after a long pause - "How come? How did it happen?"

"Your father choked on a fishbone, and your mother rushed to save him, tripped, and hit her head on the corner of the stone table in the backyard. Thankfully, my mother was also at the house and managed to call the ambulance. She's at the Central Hospital."

"Damn, I can’t believe it. I'm coming there as soon as I can get away from work."

We talked a bit more about the details of the incident, but I couldn't think of a more fitting end to the mediocre and tranquil life my parents had led. I was an only child and wanted to at least see my mother before she passed. I was in shock; my parents were still relatively young and healthy. They were both lowly civil servants, not even retired yet. Of course, I expected to experience their deaths, but not so soon. In all those years I had gone home just once, the fare was too expensive, but I talked to them often via video calls. It wasn't frequently enough, according to them, but they seemed otherwise quite content with their boring modest lives.

I requested leave, unpaid of course, and travelled to Phalopia only three days later, since I could not be released immediately from work. Apparently, I was essential to the factory, although thousands of other employees did the same repetitive job as I did. Despite my emotional turmoil, I continued to work effectively, my activities did not require much thinking, and they ended up distracting me from the tragedy, in fact. I even attempted to pay a visit to the posh City Centre to clear my mind, but the whole area was sealed off due to a terrorist attack from Crisalidan separatists and I had to linger in the lodge ruminating instead.

The trip back home was horrible, and I flew for the first time, despite the much higher prices than by rail. I finally cried copiously, several times during the two-hour flight, with tears interspersed with long intervals spent looking from above at the monotonous landscape of our Empire, with gradual variations in vegetation as we approached the tropical zones.

I arrived at late evening in Phalopia, and my cousin picked me up at the airport. My mother had not survived her injuries, and there was no point in going to the hospital anymore. In the morning, he would take me to the morgue and help me with the bureaucratic procedures. I went straight to my parents' house, and was surprised by the high walls, security cameras, and alarm system, which had not existed before. I was exhausted, having hardly slept in the days since I received the news, and I immediately fell asleep in my old bedroom, still decorated with posters of old rock bands. I left the window open, of course, not forgetting the mosquito screen, knowing that I would be woken by the birds chirping in the square the next day.

I woke up, not to the chirping of birds though, but to the sound of horns and traffic noise. It was already day, and I looked out the window. The quiet street next to the house had been taken over by a viaduct, and the trees in the square in front of it had been cut down to make way for a brutalist-style shopping mall. Why had my parents not told me about this?

My cousin would only pick me up in about three hours; I had time to explore the surroundings. I went down for breakfast at the shopping mall, there must have been something good to eat there, but, when I entered, I saw that half of the stores were shuttered and the rest was occupied mostly by pawn shops and gambling dens. I found however a decent joint serving buttered toast and lukewarm coffee. It wasn’t great, but at least much cheaper than in Hibernum. I still had time to take a dip in the lake, where I have had many good moments with my friends in its pristine waters; and the heat was already unusually intense at that time of the day. However, the smell coming from the lake and the litter on its shore made me think twice, and I went back home to wait for my cousin.

We went to the morgue to recognize the bodies, but I did not feel the emotion I imagined I would. I had to fill out and sign several forms, which turned the whole process into a mere bureaucratic procedure. And the bodies, well, they were just inert bodies, I did not perceive my parents in those corpses, they might as well be complete strangers. Upon leaving the morgue, I was immediately approached by a very polite and uptight funeral agent, who tried to push me into buying his most expensive funeral package. I responded right away:

"Just the cheapest package will do."

"I understand your choice, sir. But perhaps you would consider one of our special packages? It would be a beautiful way to honour your parents," the agent tried to convince me.

"No, thanks, now that they're dead it doesn't make much of a difference." - In truth, I didn't want to spend my meagre savings, but I couldn't say that, obviously.

"Of course, as you wish, sir. Then, the cheapest package costs 5.000 Hibernian crowns, and it consists of a basic wooden coffin and a simple wreath of flowers. Cemetery charges are not included, though, you have to settle that with them, but I’d recommend the annex of the Heavenly Peace Cemetery, they are not that expensive." – And I could see the disguised scorn on his face.

There went a good part of my savings, but there was not much I could do about it. At least I would be the sole heir to my parents. Not that they had sizeable savings, but at least they also had no debts, and the house must have been worth something, maybe I could finally move out of the lodging in Hibernum, or perhaps even set up my own restaurant right here in Phalopia. I was undecided, I hadn’t had time to think about what to do next.

At night, I went with my cousin to a bar in the old town centre. We had a few beers, of questionable quality, but ice-cold at least, and talked for hours reminiscing about the old times. After a while, as I went to the toilets, I passed by a table with a group of women in their thirties. I looked to see if I found someone interesting; my parents were dead, but I wasn't. To my surprise, I saw Aurelia, an old crush from my youth, with whom I had hooked up a few times, without it evolving into a more serious relationship, since I would leave for Hibernum back then. Aurelia had gained a bit of weight but was still quite attractive. I stood in front of her, and as soon as she looked at me, I said.

"Aurelia? Is that really you? Do you remember me?"

She immediately stood up, giving me a tight hug, and said.

"Wow! - And she said my name - Of course, I remember, how could I forget you! It's been so long... how are you?"

I told her about the death of my parents, and she promptly said.

"Oh, I’m really sorry for your parents, I didn’t know that, my condolences. They seemed to be such a happy couple.”

"Let’s forget the sad stuff and move on… How's your family going? I heard you got married," I replied.

“Yes, I got married and had three kids, but I've already separated, I'm back on the market, hanging out with the 'girls.'"

I grinned when I heard the news. I dismissed my cousin and joined Aurelia. We talked for hours until the bar kicked us out in the early morning. Nothing happened, but there was a sexual tension in the air, and I accompanied her to the taxi that she had called. At that moment, however, my doubts dissipated. Old Phalopia no longer existed, my old self didn’t exist either and nothing would be the same as before, but I also didn't reckon that I would have any future in the Capital. This is my place, Phalopia may be a forgotten shithole, but it's my shithole. We had everything before us, a toast to the new old Phalopia!