Quare: The City Upstairs Sees You

Submitted into Contest #85 in response to: Set your story in a major city that your character has a love-hate relationship with.... view prompt

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Happy Creative Nonfiction

This story contains themes or mentions of mental health issues.


Sometimes, we feel alone. We don’t feel comfortable in our own skin, or in extreme cases we don’t even feel safe. Why? I’ve had many conversations prompted by these questions with my psychologist and bathroom mirror. A year ago, I had an excellent routine: woke up early, meditated, worked out, ate with pescatarian dietary restrictions, and started my day with determination to do my absolute best. “But, why?” my doctor would ask me, to which I replied: “it’s healthy.” If what I said was in fact right, how did my well being take such a rapid decline? I’m a 17 year-old literary student with a passion for the written word, but no books I’ve ever studied prepared me for this setback in my story. “You’re putting too much pressure on yourself, it isn’t healthy,” so are you telling me I need to take better care of myself? Should I meditate more? No. That wasn’t the solution. These past few years I’ve done my best to be the perfect daughter, friend, and student, but it’s all come back in the form of anxiety. Anxiety? Huh, I had never felt anything like this. A year is what it took for me to go from the absolute highest peak of happiness, to crashing down into the dirty soil of bodily imprisonment. I couldn’t recognize myself. Life as I knew it was flipped into a wave of perturbation, and I had no buoy to keep me from drowning. How could the universe do this to me? I’m a good person, and I don’t think I’ve done anything to deserve this… 12 months later and I’m still struggling, but I’m swimming the waves that once overpowered me, and here’s what I’ve learned so far:

To be a citizen of Quare is a great honor. This hidden utopia floating among clouds welcomes only the purest essences. Each habitant is a drop of sunlight saved from suffrage caused by humanity on earth. Whether from humans, animals, plants, or even natural properties, all with a divine energy are transferred to Quare for safekeeping. These warm energies are all run and managed by the Akashic Records, the creator of Quare. Nourished and loved, anything from Quare radiates a positivity incomprehensible to earthly creatures. The city unseen by humanity, or animals and plants, Quare’s citizens watch the living downstairs while enjoying comforts and safety of their utopian society. Only one rule is applied in this otherwise free community, no Quarean can go back down to earth.

Discite, a newcomer essence, hovers on city clouds alongside new neighbours, all radiating warmth and discussing theories of their past lives on earth. “I think I was a black caiman frog,” one light figure says, “really! I always imagined myself to be the roots of a Palmito tree, maybe we were both from the Amazon,” another answers. As everyone got acquainted, Discite laid down, and separated some white fluff to a view of the world below. Watching as humans protested environmental issues, animals going extinct, forests dying, and overall earthly pain, the new citizen wondered how these creatures sharing a planet could do this to one another. The sun shone brightly over Quare, but a dark thought brewed Discite’s spirit. 

“You want to help them, Discite,” looking over, The Akashic Records themselves lingered round’ the broken spirit, bearing knowledge of the whole universe and ready to teach. The empty vessel looked back to the life below and pondered the ethics of this so-called ‘enlightened’ city. How could Quare claim to be so ethereal without the ability to help those suffering? The purity and innate goodness this place holds goes to waste without an outlet to exercise it. Keeping these great essences here captive was illogical because without suffrage, nothing balances out, and existence ceases to even materialize.  

The Akashic Records holds out a warm light to Discite with empathy, “I hear you, let's discuss this.” Laying down next to the student, the lesson unfolded: “I’m not going to tell you why we can’t help those on earth. I want to talk about the term ‘illogical’. Why have we become so dependent on things making systemic sense? Logic doesn’t necessarily always have the best or ‘right’ answer. In reality, abstract thinking can lead to a healthier and more peaceful life for those who stress ‘technicalities’ of anything to an unhealthy extent. In other words, I’m talking about those who are hard on themselves. Discite, why do you feel the need to help these people? Why are you putting this pressure on yourself, when you have an eternity of a safe utopia to look forward to? Look at earth, the people taking care of themselves. Their world has this glorified version of what they should be doing to practise self-care, but people are still getting sick. Why is that? The eternal pressure of having to do a certain regiment or routine to take care of yourself, is often as destructive as whatever it is they fear will happen to their health. What if selfcare meant doing absolutely nothing? What if people gave themselves permission to indulge a little? Why are people so afraid of doing what feels good and soothing in the moment? It’s because they don’t trust themselves, Discite. What some people don’t realize is that intention is often just as beneficial to action when it comes to selfcare. Mindfulness and goodness radiates energy into the world whether you pay attention to it or not. Simply by existing in Quare and being intentional with our thoughts, we are providing good energy and love to earth. It’s up to those who live to notice it and share this gift of mindfulness.” Discite continued gazing over at the people, and understood a new meaning to the word intention. Pleased with their lesson, The Akashic records granted the essence with a ‘kiss to the universe’. “With this kiss, I allow you to send direct goodness, peace, and luck to all beings with a conscience.” 

Somewhere out there, the universe is working in your favour. Those who are mindful and remain with good intentions may be lucky enough to feel it. But those who don't always have the opportunity to change and grow, because the universe is also growing at a rapid speed.


Sometimes we may feel alone, but we aren't.


March 18, 2021 02:52

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