- fireskull66325
- |
- Exalted Legendary Member
Mason
David turned the corner onto 71st street, New York City, New York. It was sunny, warm, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. As he walked along the grey chipped sidewalk his mind wasn't on the weather, or even his coming promotion at work. You see, two very odd things had happened to him earlier that day. A women walked by, seemingly in a hurry, prompting him to look up interrupting his thoughts. It wasn't a horribly crowded street, but that was only by New York's standards. Hot dog vendors cried out their wares while a steady stream of people walked along the crowded sidewalks. Cars, taxis, and buses all drove down the street on the way to their respective destinations. Packed bumper to bumper in some places, horns were blaring and people were shouting. David didn't notice any of this, so absorbed he was with his own thoughts. As he passed by a bench that didn't have someone sleeping on it he sat down and checked his phone. Still no replies to his messages. His day had been eventful to say the least, but not in the way he would have liked.
First he woke up this morning to find his girlfriend Cassandra, Cassy for short, packing up her things. They didn't live together per se, but she frequently stayed over for 3 or 4 days at a time. As such she had clothes and a few other things of hers in his room to stay. She was almost finished packing them into the backpack she used to carry her school things. She was 25 and studying to be a doctor. Quite different than himself. He worked the financial accounting and relations for all of the bank's wealthy investors, as well as programming for a major commercial gaming site on the side. He was good at his banking job, so much so he was in line for a promotion any day now, but he still had the time for his programming. Even though the gaming site was popular it was more of a hobby to improve his skills more than a second job, and it was also more relaxing than his financial work was. It gave him an easy way to relax outside of work and helped him from being overwhelmed.
As she finished putting them in she noticed that he had woken up. "Oh! Sorry David but I have to go right now." She said it as if she was embarrassed about something, or like something was troubling her.
"What's the problem?" he asked, "Is there trouble with your family?"
"No." she said, "No trouble. I just need some time to think by myself."
"Ok well let me get your bag. Do you need a ride back to your apartment?"
"No it's fine David. Really it is. I just need some time to think."
As she left the apartment, practically running, he was left there feeling confused and a little hurt. It wasn't like her to do something without planning or any kind of warning beforehand.
He got up, got himself dressed, quickly drank a cup of coffee and headed off to his friend's house. It wasn't a very big house, it was New York City after all, but just the fact he had his own house was something to be remarked on. He was something of a prodigy. He had become a full fledged doctor at the age of twenty two, complete with a position at a local hospital. In the three years since then he had established himself as a successful doctor and had even been interviewed for multiple medical magazines and articles in the time since then. As he turned the corner to it he saw his friend Jacob's house. Not overly large or expensive looking, although he could certainly afford it. Jacob grew up in a simple house and preferred things that way. He had almost had to force him to do that first interview. He opened the gate and went to the door, but then he noticed the garage door was open. He walked across the small cobblestone path to the garage, and there he saw Jacob packing luggage into his car's trunk.
"Oh David." He said, "Sorry but I'm going to be away for a while. My flight leaves in less than an hour so I have to hurry."
"Why?" I asked, as he closed the trunk and started getting in the car.
"My mom was hit by a mudslide when she was hiking. She's in critical condition, and I have to get over there."
"When did you find out about this?" I asked him hurriedly before he started the car.
"Just a few minutes ago. Luckily someone at the airport knows my name. They got me on the first flight out to California. Watch Janes for me will you?"
He drove off before I could say I would. Janes was his cat. He had gotten him back when they were in high school. They had grown up together back in California, but decided to move to New York because of the college opportunities.
He looked at the rapidly disappearing car, and decided he would sort this all out at work. Things were happening too fast, and he needed some time to think for himself.
So there he was now. Sitting on 71st when he should probably be well on his way to work if not there already.
Wait, "Oh dang." He thought. He realized he hadn't checked the time that day. It had been too filled this morning and he hadn't checked before heading to Jacob's. He pulled his phone out again. 8:43 AM.
"Wow." He thought, "It really is early." He was about 20 minutes away from work, but he didn't have to be there until 9:30 or so. He could do the financing for work on his own time and only needed to be there earlier if he had an appointment with a client. Today he had one, but it wasn't until 10:00 with the Joneses. He put his phone back in his pocket and eased himself up, right when a jet black pulled up to the curb right in front of him. Two men got out of the car. They immediately reminded me of the guys in the matrix. Black suits and black glasses made for an imposing pair. Then they turned straight in front of me and asked.
"Are you Mr. David Marques?
"Yes, yes I am."
If only I had known how those words would change my life.