Heartlands

It was almost dark. Dusk was falling upon the city-state, sending the heart of it into slumber to prepare for another battle tomorrow. He was sitting at the void-deck, in the midst of the heartlands, enjoying the serenity it seemed to bring. He needed peace and quiet, needed to slow down amidst the hectic pace of life, to self-reflect and reminiscent. There are times when one needs to be alone and this was clearly it. Besides, there was nothing more to accomplish for the day.

There were so many things going on in his mind now, a treacherous swamp that he had no way navigating around.

A train rumbled along the tracks above.

He took another long drag, hoping to calm his mind down. It glowed uneasily…as if something was wrong with it, somewhere the quality control had went bonkers. No matter, the kick still remained. Only that he had to take a longer time to find it.

Another sound, and this time, it was the old man with the ice-cream van. Right on time, it seems. Time for him to make a move too, into the falling darkness where somewhere, there was a light waiting for him.

And dinner.