Moon City Loner

Why is it so noisy? Well I know why but does it have to be this noisy. Maybe I should go down there, it should be fun, shouldn't it? Zama thought to herself looking up at her white ceiling. Tonight was Moon City's Lovers Festival. The Lovers Festival was an annual event that celebrated well, love. The city was known for its magic statue at the centre of the city where singles could go and wish for love and apparently they found it. Zama didn't believe it- even though thousands had made testimonials about finding love after wishing on the statue. She thought that it was propaganda created to attract more tourists, which it did. This year's theme was "Anything Could Happen". Anything could happen, the thought crept into her mind. She looked at the time on her phone- 21:08. Without thinking, she got up, took a shower. Wore her floral mini dress, pairing it with sandals, put her hair in a bun and was out the door.

Her heart was pounding. She was a very reserved, quiet person. She'd moved to Moon City three months ago when she got the job of her dreams as a video game designer at 7th Heaven Gaming. The job paid well, came with a car and an apartment. The staff was extremely friendly and management encouraged creativity, which is what made her thrive at her job. Despite all of this, she didn't have any friends. Her coworkers were nice and all, even invited her out on multiple occasions, but she just didn't seem to fit in with them. They were somehow cooler and confident. She couldn't relate and felt out of place. This left her by herself most of the time. Which often made her sad because Moon City was a vibrant and beautiful place to live. She was lucky to be there.

She looked around. The city had gone all out. There were beautiful lights all over, different kinds of music playing from street performers. There were different pop up restaurants around the main street. Bars were alive with people. Couples, friends, family, laughing and having a good time. She felt alone again. This was not a good idea. I should've stayed in bed and binge watched something on Netflix- she thought, feeling her eyes filling up with hot tears. She was a loser, alone out on a lover's festival for chrissake. She'd walked all this way, was surrounded by all these people and she was still all alone. She took out her phone to order an Uber and get back home. Guess you're crying yourself to sleep again tonight, the melancholic thought crossed her mind.

Her Uber was 7 minutes away, it felt like a lifetime. Just then, a stranger talking on the phone bumped into her. She saw him coming. He was saying something on his phone and wasn't paying attention, but she somehow thought she was invisible and that he would somehow walk right through her. She chuckled at the random thought, it also hurt her heart. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry", he said- holding her by both arms, making sure she was okay. Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't think she needed human contact that much. It felt good to be touched. Before she could speak, he was back on the phone. "Hey, I can't see you. I'm at this location. Where are yo- shit.". He looked at her, "Oh sorry again, my phone just died and I just lost my group and like a true millennial idiot, I don't know anyone's number.". She didn't say anything. She was just happy to be seen. Someone was making conversation with her. "My name is Haruto, the random guy who just rudely bumped into you", he said smiling. She then noticed how handsome he actually was. Your turn to speak, she reminded herself. She was just staring at him. "Hey, Haruto, I'm Zama. The random girl who didn't move out of the way", Am I being charming? No, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Haruto laughed. "Okay, let's agree that we're both random, I like that. I'm guessing you lost your people too?", he said. "Yes, I was starting to give up on them", she lied. She didn't want him to judge her for being alone at a lover's festival. "Let's not give up hope, maybe we can walk around for a little, maybe one of us will run into their group first", he said. "Lovely suggestion". Instinctively, she canceled her Uber.

"So what do you do Zama?", he asked with a smile. He's so damn cute. OMG. "Well I'm a videogame designer and you?". "I am a vet", he said shyly, "video game designer? Now that's the coolest job. I didn't know pretty girls made those games. I'm now gonna spend tons of money on them with this new found knowledge", he said. She couldn't believe he thought she was pretty. It was not like she didn't know she was attractive, she just didn't believe it. No, no, no, low self esteem won't ruin this for me, she thought. "That's sweet, but yes, do that because you keep me paid", she said with a laugh, "but I'd totally love to work with animals. You must love your work". "I do", he replied warmly.

They walked around the festival, stopping at different street musicians. "This is how I lost my friends. This guy dared me to play the guitar and I did. I wasn't good". She laughed. They grabbed something to eat at a pop up restaurant. Talking about their work, moving to a different city and how much they both missed home, their favourite video games. He told her what he thought the best game to come out that year was. She told him why pugs were the superior dog. The conversation flowed, with mini heated arguments about what they thought the ending of Game of Thrones should've been like. Shee felt like she was in a romantic comedy. People don't meet like this, do they? I don't care, this is fun, she thought. "So what does Zama mean?", he asked when they stopped for ice cream. It felt like if they weren't eating, they were walking or drinking. Two hours had passed. It all felt like a dream. "It means try. So even though the city gets lonely, I know I'm here for a reason and I try to make it work". "Do you feel lonely often?", he asked with concern in his voice. Shit, I don't want him to feel bad for me. But she didn't feel like pretending anymore, she'd already lied about "losing her friend group". "Well, yes. I've just been finding it hard to fit in, that's all". "With what you've told me about your coworkers, they seem like cool people, I think you should let them in a bit more, I'm assuming you're here with them right?". "Yes", she lied again, "just let them in. They seem like they've accepted you, maybe you should accept them and yourself. Believe you belong here and everything else will fall into place". He's so smart, she thought. "So what does Haruto mean?", she said, trying to change the subject. "It means to soar, I think it's cool". "I think so too", she said.

"Okay, I'm thinking of calling it. It's almost been three hours'', Haruto said. She didn't know if that was code for him taking her home. If it was, she was more than glad to go home with him. "Let me request an Uber for you, since your phone is off'', she said, trying to play coy. She took her phone out and ordered the Uber. She heard a woman shouting "Babe, thank God. Where have you been?". Zama stopped what she was doing and looked up. The woman was tall with jet black hair and piercings all over her ears and tattoos on her arms. She was wearing a black tank top, a pleated skirt and doc martens with black stockings. "Sarah", Haruto said, kissing the goth girl and hugging her. She seemed drunk. "I'm drunk, babe", she said. "I can see'', he said with a laugh, "where is the rest of the gang?", he asked. "I don't know. I lost them at Bar Z and came looking for you". Zama was surprised at how soft the girl was. She always thought goth girls were hard and mean. She was also surprised that that was Haruto's type. She had known him for 2 hours and 47 minutes, she'd been counting, but she never thought he would be into a goth girl. "I made a friend, this is Zama. We've been keeping each other company, she lost her people too. I was about to call it, she requested an Uber for me", he explained. "Oh, Zama, thank you", Sarah said, hugging her. "Nice to meet you and you're welcome", she said with a fake smile. "Well, your Uber is here", Zama said hesitantly. She didn't want her night with Haruto to end, "nice meeting you guys' ', she said, a fake smile still in place. Haruto got Sarah in the car and came over to her. "Well, this doesn't happen everyday", he said. "What?", Zama asked. "Meeting a perfect stranger. You made night. I think this is the first time I enjoyed the festival like I did. Thank you". She smiled. "Are you gonna be okay here? Don't you wanna ride with us?", he asked. "No, go take care of Sarah, I'll be okay", she said, trying to conceal her shaking voice. She was about to cry.

She waved at the couple as the Uber derived off. Tears started falling. Quick, hot tears. She tried to wipe them away but they just kept coming. She had just had the perfect night, with the perfect guy, in a perfect city. And it was gone. She was alone and heartbroken. She stood in place as people passed her.