I stood at the very edge of the world I knew. Behind me was the darkness of the forest, the safety of the leaves and the dirt. But in front of me… in front of me was something else entirely.
Looking at the beautiful, terrifying view in front of me, I had to think. I couldn't help it. The question bubbled up from my stomach and stuck in my throat.
"Why? Why did my father want to keep me away from such a beautiful place?"
I tilted my head back and looked up at the night sky. I searched for the familiar comfort of the stars, the ones I counted every night from my tent back home. But I couldn't see them. Not a single one. There was no room for stars here. The lights of the city in front of me were too strong, too demanding. They were shining like a second sun, burning with a strange, electric fire, calling me to come closer. They whispered to me, promising secrets that the forest could never teach me.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Before I took a single step out of the shadows, I wanted to make sure I understood everything I was seeing. I needed to map this beast before I walked into its belly.
I saw huge walls of glass and metal standing tall. They were titans. They didn't grow from the ground; they pierced it. They stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking out the heavens. I believed these were called buildings. I heard about them from my father during our long nights by the fire. He told me that people live inside them like birds in a nest, stacked one on top of the other, hundreds of trees high in the air.
Looking at them now, glistening in the night, I knew that must be true. But they didn't look like nests. They looked like mountains made by gods.
Then, I looked down.
The ground was alive. I saw metal boxes with thick rubber tires zooming past me. Hundreds of them. They came in colors I didn't know existed—shiny blacks, screaming reds, deep blues. I squinted my eyes and I could see people sitting inside those boxes. They looked calm, their hands resting on wheels, staring straight ahead. They were moving so fast, rushing from one side to the other as if they were running away from something terrible. Or maybe they were running toward something wonderful.
They were definitely using these boxes to travel. It was magic, plain and simple.
I looked at the ground beneath them. It wasn't dirt. It wasn't grass. It was a concrete river.
It was grey and flat and endless. The metal cars were hovering and rolling over it with a low, vibrating hum that shook the soles of my boots. This river was so smooth and hard, made perfectly flat to let the people travel without any bumps or jumps. No roots to trip over here. No rocks to twist your ankle. Just speed.
I counted four lanes in this concrete river. In two lines, those metal boxes were going left to right. In the other two, they went right to left.
It was chaotic. It was a storm of metal.
I tried to keep track. One, two, three… I lost count instantly. Almost seventy of those metal boxes flew by every count of 60. The noise was a constant roar, like a waterfall that never ends. Vroom. Whoosh. Roar.
I shifted my gaze just a little to the side. I saw people walking on a narrow, raised path beside this river of cars. They were swarming. There were so many of them. They were holding the same small, glowing boxes that the girl I met earlier had. Their faces were lit up by the pale blue light of the boxes, their eyes locked onto that box, ignoring the chaos of the road right next to them.
"Wow…" The breath left my lungs. "This is my first time seeing so many people in one place."
I said it out loud, my voice sounding small against the noise of the city. I was looking excited, my fingers twitching at my sides.
There were lights of every color—red, green, yellow. They flashed and danced. I also saw different words written on big sign boards hanging on the sides of those massive buildings. Some were blinking on and off in a rhythm. Click, buzz. Click, buzz. Some were shining even brighter than the moon tonight, painting the street below.
In short, I saw a whole new world. It was loud, it was bright, and it smelled like burnt oil and electricity. And I understood what most of it was just by looking. (At least, that was what I thought.)
I felt a pull in my gut. A hunger. Not of food this time but of entirely something else.
I whispered to myself, "I want to go there. Right now."
A somewhat evil smile came onto my face. It curled the corners of my lips. It wasn't just that I wanted to visit; I looked at the city like a hunter looks at prey. I wanted to conquer it. I wanted to touch the glass walls, run on the concrete river, and hold the glowing lights. I wanted to take all of it for myself.
I couldn't wait any longer. Patience had never been my strong suit, and tonight, my patience was gone.
So I jumped down onto the road.
ZOOOOOM!
One metal box rushed past, a blur of silver. It was one finger away from hitting me. Just one finger. The wind from its speed slapped my face hard, stinging my skin, blowing my hair back wildly. The smell of hot rubber filled my nose.
ZOOOOOM!
Another one flew by, followed by the angry blare of a roar. HONK!
My heart skipped a beat. Actually, it stopped entirely for a second. Fear, cold and sharp, shot through my veins. I quickly scrambled backward, digging my heels in, pulling myself back to the safety of the forest edge. My chest was heaving.
This was dangerous. This was far more dangerous than any beast in the woods. A bear gives you a warning growl. These metal boxes just strike.
I took a moment to calm my shaking hands. I watched. I narrowed my eyes and focused. I started analyzing the pattern of the boxes. I watched how they moved, how fast they were moving, and how much space was between them.
Left lane, fast. Right lane, slightly slower. Gap. Gap. Car. Car. Gap.
It was a rhythm. It was a dance. And eventually, I figured out how to cross this dangerous river. I just had to be faster than the current.
Now, the only thing keeping me away from the city was this stream of metal and speed.
I tightened my muscles. I coiled my legs like springs.
"Go."
I jumped into the river.
I pulled myself back as a car moved past my nose—whoosh! The heat from it washed over me. Then I rushed straight ahead. Shooooo! Another car blared its roar, a monster screaming at me, but I stayed in the gap. I didn't freeze. I moved. Then I rushed straight again, my boots slapping hard against the asphalt.
I jumped onto the small concrete divider in the middle of the four lanes, slightly lifted from the river.
I landed crouched, balancing on the thin strip of safety. The wind from the cars on both sides whipped at my clothes.
I was halfway there.
I took a deep breath, tasting the grit and the fumes. I waited for an opening in the next lane. My eyes darted left, tracking the lights.
Not yet. Not yet…
Now!
I jumped on the road again. Shooo! Zooom!
The boxes were moving by so fast, blurring my vision. The lights smeared into long lines of color. I moved as fast as my legs could carry me, pumping my arms, pushing my body to its limit. I could feel the heat of those things on my skin.
BOOM.
My feet hit the pavement on the other side. A solid, heavy landing.
I made it. I was across the river.
I stood up straight, my legs shaking slightly from the rush. I took deep breaths, filling my lungs with the city air. It tasted metallic, sharp, and alive. It tasted like freedom.
Before I looked left or right, before I explored this neon jungle, I turned my head back. I looked across the deadly river, back at the dark forest one last time. It looked so quiet now. So still. It was the only home I had ever known.
I had to say my last goodbye.
I smiled, a genuine, soft smile. "Thanks for everything. And hey, father… I will be back soon."
BUMP.
Suddenly, I felt a hard shove on my back.
Two hands. Strong. Sudden.
Someone had pushed me.
The world tilted. I stumbled forward, my balance lost. My feet tangled, and I fell forward, right onto the river. Right into the lane.
I hit the ground hard, skinning my palms. Panic exploded in my head.
I twisted my head around, desperate to see who had done this.
I saw a masked man standing there on the sidewalk. He was tall, dressed in shadows. For a split second, our eyes met—or where his eyes would be behind that mask. He stood there like a statue, watching me fall.
Then, he disappeared.
He melted into the ocean of people walking on the sidewalk. He didn't run; he just blended in. He vanished like a ghost in the fog.
I looked up from the ground. The asphalt was cold and rough against my cheek.
I whispered to myself, my voice trembling, "Maybe it was you, Dad? I should have listened to you. I should never have come to the city in the first place."
The regret washed over me, heavier than the fear. He had warned me. He had told me the city was a beast that eats people. I thought he was lying. I thought he was just trying to keep me trapped.
"And now… now I am dying in such a lame way, without fulfilling my promise."
The tears came hot and fast, stinging my eyes. I was pathetic. I crossed the forest, I fought beasts, only to die because I got pushed?
I closed my eyes tight. I curled my body, waiting for the impact. I waited for the crushing weight of metal tires. I waited for the pain. I was crying in the process, silent sobs shaking my shoulders.
One second. Two seconds.
Nothing happened.
But to my surprise, the metal boxes didn't hit me. The roar had faded. They had stopped.
I opened my eyes, blinking through the tears.
I looked up. A bunch of those boxes were stopped in a line far away from me. Their red lights were glowing like angry eyes, but they weren't moving.
I saw a light hanging above the road. It was red. It must be some kind of signal. A command that even these metal monsters had to obey.
I was lying on the ground, confused, my brain trying to catch up. I was trying to figure out why they stopped, when suddenly, the noise returned.
CLICK.
The light above turned green.
The boxes revved. The growl came back, louder than before. The cars started to come crashing down the road again, picking up speed, tires squealing against the pavement. They were heading straight for me.
I stared at the wall of lights rushing toward me. They were getting bigger. Brighter. Louder.
I was paralyzed in fear. My legs wouldn't work. My scream was stuck in my throat. I couldn't move.
Then suddenly…