The thrill of a new season hung in the air. The city was ready to be renewed - Christmas was a fond, distant memory and the gloominess of post-December winter was packing up to leave. Everyone could breathe a little easier.
She felt it as she emerged from the subway. The sun was actually shining, and though it wasn't warm enough without a winter coat, people still smiled. The shock of such an occurrence put her in an even better mood, and she even ventured a greeting to a few passers-by.
The small-town girl in the Big Apple - she felt like the heroine of her own story. Luckily, she had already put roots down here, had formed a good community, so the romanticism of her move would be well-balanced by reality.
Still, the apartment was generous for what she was paying, and she had windows to open. They looked over an alleyway, yes, but there was air to breathe. She dropped her bags and counted how many steps it took to walk the perimeter of her new place, pleased when it was more than her estimation.
She'd been invited to dinner that night but put it off until the weekend. She knew how important it was to establish herself on her own terms before starting her new life in relation to her friends, colleagues, and potential lovers.
She took a walk, as for as her legs could carry her, as long as he could take breath. She took only her keys and a few dollars to buy food from street vendors. She wanted to capture the city without anything else demanding her attention. She wanted to see it, smell it, taste it in a way that it could be hers. She wanted to find her own piece of it like the millions who walked around her. The bright lights dazzled her but they didn't deter her. She shuffled her way through a maze of streets and skyscrapers. She bought a hot dog and coffee from a guy on the street and breathed in the familiar smells that seemed altogether different, here.
She knew she could be anyone in this city. There was something more than she wanted, something new she wanted to find. She smiled at the lovers eating dinner, ambling down the street, waiting in line for the club. Men, women, friends, romantics, they were all a picture of a life that could be. A life that would be hers, once she knew herself again.
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