Rooftop in Old Rio

The sun sank below the tops of the city, the hundred-story, kilometer square, squat, grey blocks arranged in a neat grid. The ruins they worked their way up, in the heart of the old city, were one-fifth the height.

The stairwell was open in spots, the vines having wedged into the mortar and pulled parts of the wall away. Sid looked out one of the holes at the ground far below. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“Enough. Nothing’s completely safe.” Ala continued to the roof, waiting for Sid to catch up.

“How about,” Sid asked, catching his breath, “legal?”

“Oh, no. Not at all.” Ala laughed.

Sid eyed the door to the stairwell and crouched down. He licked his lips and took a few deep breaths.

“Relax. No one’s looking for us here, and there are no regular patrols.” Ala removed her pack, pulled out a blanket and spread it with a shake.

“How often do you do this?”

“Every chance I get.” She pointed to one of the other ruined buildings. “That one has a better view into the jungle, but the roof is starting to sag. Squishy in places, a little scary. Still, there’s enough of a view from here.”

Sid stood and looked away from the city toward the jungle. It had reclaimed the smaller buildings around the ruins.

With the sunset, the noise from the jungle increased. Birds and monkeys called out in the twilight. Ala raised a pair of binoculars and scanned the trees. She handed them to Sid and pointed to a large tree at the edge of the canopy.

Sid watched as monkeys jumped from branch to branch in a wild chase. He handed the binoculars back. “Not something I ever thought I’d see.”

“That’s not the best part,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“You’ll have to wait a bit for it. In the meantime, let’s eat.” She unpacked the bedrolls and self-heating meals. While the meals heated, she removed a thermos from her pack and poured two cups of steaming coffee.

“That smells amazing. Is it real?”

“Yep. Normally I wouldn’t bother, but since I brought a guest, I thought I’d splurge.”

As they ate, their conversation was trivial, and about nothing in particular. Ala noticed that Sid wolfed down his meal but took time savoring his coffee sip by sip.

“There’s more of that,” she said, “you don’t have to make it last all night.”

“It’s not that. I just want to enjoy this as long as I can.”

The sky darkened by slow degrees. Venus showed first, followed by a few bright stars. By the time the sky had gone dark, the Milky Way splashed across the night.

“It’s…beautiful doesn’t seem adequate.” Sid lay back on his bedroll and stared.

“This is why I love it here.” Ala hummed in content. “Clear skies and new moon is the best.”

“Now I understand your art a little better.”

“How so?”

“Well, as far as abstract art goes, there’s something about it that seems solitary without being lonely. There’s also a feeling in several of them of being…small? Insignificant without being totally unimportant? Not sure I’m being clear.”

“No, you are. Those are valid interpretations.” Ala made a sweeping gesture at the Milky Way above. “All of this, and yet I can lay here and contemplate it with thirteen hundred grams of brain-meat.”

“Humbling.”

“Ego boost. I mean, we don’t even have the largest brains on Earth, yet we’re the ones that have ventured to other stars, colonized other worlds. Sure, we messed up early on, nearly killed the planet, but we found our way and it’s well on the way to recovery.”

“You ever been out there?”

“Mandatory service,” Ala said. “I was bounced around between systems: Bul, Dem, Kal, and Moz. You?”

“I…no. I did mandatory service in Capital City. It was the first time I left the block.” Sid propped himself up on his elbows. “In fact, today is the first day I left the block since I returned twelve years ago. I thought when I got off the train, I’d…I don’t know. It scared me.”

“The whole trip you were scared. And now?”

“Calm.”

“Exactly. That’s why I come here. To relax, recharge, reconnect to what’s important.”

“What’s that?”

“That part inside that makes us unique? I’m not sure, but whatever it is, I feel it most here, and pour it out on the canvas.”

“What’s that noise?” Sid asked.

Ala listened, catching a faint hum on the breeze. “Shit. It’s a drone. Let’s get to the stairwell before it gets here.”

She grabbed up the blanket and pack and ran across the dark rooftop. Sid followed close. They started down the dark stairs, feeling their way.

“Don’t you have a light?”

“Yeah, and if I turn it on now, the drone might pick it up. As it is, I can hope that our heat signatures are hidden enough by the ruins to be a jaguar or something.”

“Jaguar?!”

“Yeah, but they don’t usually come this far out. I’ve only ever seen one, and that was from a distance.”

Sid sat down on the stairs. “I’m not taking another step until I have some light.”

“Sid, I get that you’re not used to being outside…at all. A few minutes ago, you were laying under the stars feeling calm.”

“And?”

“And…if we ever want to be able to come back, we need to get clear of the ruins without being caught.”

“Would it really be that bad? It’s a fine? What?”

“Yeah, it’s a fifty credit fine. But…we’ll be watched every time we leave the block. Meaning we’ll never get within a kilometer of the ruins again.”

“That wouldn’t be so bad for me,” Sid said. “Hell, I’ll pay your fine, too. I just don’t want to kill myself trying to get out of here in the dark.”

Ala leaned in close him, where they could see each other in the dim light of the stars through the broken wall. “I’m not losing this because you’re scared! I’d rather leave you behind. This is my sanctuary, my only place of peace. You take this away, you might as well lock me in the asylum, because I won’t last.”

Sid shrank back before he stood and nodded. They continued their slow descent. “How long have you been coming here?” he asked.

“Since I was six or seven. My mother used to sneak out here with me. We used to camp out on the building I pointed out earlier. My family roots come from right here. We used to go by the graveyard first and visit my great-great-however-many-grandparents.”

“Where’s the graveyard?”

“It’s completely covered by the jungle now. Even the little path is gone. It disappeared while I was doing my mandatory service.”

“I’m sorry you lost that.”

“Thanks. I could probably find it again, but maybe it’s better that the jungle reclaims it. Sorry I snapped at you. You didn’t deserve that.”

“No, I probably did.” They continued in silence for a while before he spoke up again. “If I’d just been a little patient, my eyes would’ve adjusted. I can sort of see the stairs now.”

“A couple more floors and we’ll be far enough past the last hole in the wall to use a light.”

“Can you still hear the drone?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.” She slowed down and held a hand up. “This is the last hole coming up. It’s pretty big. I’ll go first and make sure the coast is clear.”

Ala edged around the corner where she found the drone sitting on the next landing down. She backed up into Sid.

He leaned close and whispered. “It’s right there, isn’t it?”

Ala nodded.

“What do we do?”

“I don’t—”

The drone hummed and ascended to where the two were huddled. “Hello,” a voice came from the drone.

Ala drooped. “Hi.”

“I’ll pay the fines,” Sid said.

“Oh, you’re not in trouble,” the voice said. “At least not from me.”

“Who?”

“Pardon me. Doctor Sue Westmore, Rio University Archaeology Department.”

“We’ll…leave,” Ala said. “Please don’t let the authorities know.”

“Not at all. I’d heard rumors of someone haunting the ruins on clear nights and wanted to see for myself. I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but seeing how well you navigated, I just had to know. Since you know the ruins, at least out to the cemetery, I’d like to hire you as a guide.”

“A guide? For what?”

“We’re planning on having grad students do some field work here in Old Rio. The government has approved a grant to restore the cemetery along with a walking path and turn it into a heritage site.”

“What does that mean for me?” Ala asked.

“You would help the students find the cemetery, and maybe some other excursions through the city ruins. One or two days a week. And you’d have full access to the ruins at any time. For at least four years.”

“But it feels like my secret spot is being taken away.”

“If you don’t want to be involved, that’s fine, but it’s happening either way.”

Ala groaned.

Sid grabbed her shoulder. “If you take the job, you can make sure the students never get anywhere around this building, or even this part of the ruins. It’s not safe, right?”

“I guess you’re right. How do I contact you, Doctor?”

“Sync your comm with the drone, and I’ll holo you tomorrow.”

Once Ala had gotten the ping from the drone, it flew back out of the building and away. She handed the torch to Sid. “Let’s get home.”

Sid turned on the torch behind her. The harsh light against the walls and stairs made it seem flat. Ala felt it took the magic away. She just hoped that it wasn’t gone forever.