Upright City

There once was a place known as Upright City. It had leafy trees and plants, fresh buildings, lovely little hedges that lined the boundaries between the identical houses, water to supply all, and large fields abundant with wild flowers. The park was filled with children and their mothers on idyllic sunny days. Children laughed as they built sandcastles, chased one another, and played hide-and-seek while their mothers sat chatting and gossiping about the latest news in the neighborhood as they kept watchful eyes on their offspring. The simple town was known to be a place for all blissful things.

With a blink of an eye, though, it was gone, and Upright City became somber. Buildings crumbled and rotted, lawns parched, and trees and plants shriveled. The city was left abandoned, left as a shadow, and became only a fragment of one’s perfect memory. I thought that place would live and thrive forever never perishing, but forever existing. Had I been hallucinating?

Upon entering that sorrowful place, I felt nothing could be done to recapture its pleasant atmosphere. As I quietly walked the silent streets, I saw things I remembered, but only perfected to the way I wanted them to take place, but as soon as those visions appeared, they were replaced with painful scenes from reality. A short rumbling then came from the grey sky above me. Rough splatters of rain tapped against my body and my surroundings. I knew it was not the rain that quenched plants or allowed rivers to rise, for if it were, then things would have remained the same.

I lurched about the neighborhood, and recognized my old house with its rugged build, deteriorating caused by age. I stood at the broken doorway with an overwhelming feeling of grief and tragedy. My humble home laid in decay. As I sat on my old bed, still there, my eyes surveyed the floor and rested upon a small metal box. I abruptly sat up and kneeled next to it, eyeing it with suspicion. I was curious. The box was covered with leafy vines. Surely, such a strange occurrence warranted my inspection.

I saw that the vines were not growing from some stray plant still clinging to life, but rather it was growing from within the box. The peculiar box showed proof of a keyhole. The troubled end had come, and I felt downhearted. My luck had run out because I was not in possession of the key, nor had I any idea of its location. I rested my back down on the dusty wooden floor; defeated, and let my eyes gaze on that lock. I wasn’t thinking, and I certainly wasn’t planning.

No emotion. No thoughts. Nothing. I laid there for an undisclosed time and still nothing came to mind. Although the rain shower had ceased, I still heard the perpetual dripping of raindrops, but nothing changed. Then thoughts surfaced, what was this box? What was it doing in my old house? How did it get there, and what on Earth could it contain?

Again, I was thrown back into thought and imagination, and an idea struck me. I sat up inquisitive if my cunning plan would work. I closed my eyes only re-open them quickly. I hesitated. What if it didn’t work? I bit my lip and shook my head to clear all negative thoughts from my blurry mind. I closed my eyes and concentrated hard on what was needed, what had to be done, what I wanted, and what this world needed.

In my left hand, I clutched a study object. Sitting up, I held my breath and opened my eyes as my hand unclenched an exquisite skeleton key. I stared at in with awe before slowly, with trembling hands, I stuck the key into the keyhole. It fit neatly within the lock. I turned it to the right with slow precision. My anticipation grew stronger.

I heard the faint click of the lock and huffed a sigh. Exhilarated, I opened the box and was greeted by a blinding light and then a horrendous silence and darkness. I sat there waiting, not breathing, my mind obscured, my body pulsing with fear and excitement.

My eyelids flickered, and I saw the clear floor in front of me. The box was gone! I gasped as I stumbled to my feet. The house still looked the same, dreary as ever, but the place upon which I stood was filled with color and radiant perfection. I took a step forward, perfection following my movement, spreading across the floor, lapping up the ugliness and purifying it. I took several more steps and, again, perfection followed me.

I gazed in amazement as it continued to pursue me. I walked to the empty doorframe, and as soon as I reached out my hand, the pale yellow door appeared. I turned the knob and stared out into the color-drained world. I took a deep breath and walked out along the sidewalk. Perfection trailed at my feet. All around me buildings recovered, grass grew, and trees sprung to life. I smiled for the first time, and when I did, the last blinding light flashed and the last fragment of my perfect memory burst back to life.

The city of Upright flourished. It is not an illusion. I entered it though my only passage to perfection, through my dreams, my refuge from reality. And so I say to you, newcomers and current residents, welcome to Upright City.


 

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Jordan]

Such beautiful description! This story was simply magical, and I really enjoyed reading it. Though I'm not sure if the theme you were trying to get across was to never lose faith, I believe that could be a plausible theme to this story. It was very well told, and had a good vocabulary and other such necessities inside it to explain itself and allow a very well said flow to it. As I said before, this was a very good write, and I believe I would like to see more of your works! I loved the ending as well, it really piqued my interest! So once again I say, very well done!

[The Hatter Girl]

Good Description..