NEON HEART DAY GLOW EYES, A CITY LIT BY FIREFLIES
- - - - - -they're advertising in the skies for people like us
"Have a good day." Was the line used when handing the polystyrene cup over to every rare customer that entered the old coffee shop. His deep brown iris' watched adoringly at the hot blonde leaving the empty coffee shop with her take-away skinny latte in one hand and a bundle of well worn leaflets flattened inside a map in an other. It was clear that she was a tourist, if her tanned skin and her souvenir t-shirt wasn't enough, the fact that she entered the coffee house would have given it away. Just a few blocks down from Central Park the coffee house used to do wonders, or so he was told by a previous staff member before a Starbucks branch was built a little further up the street. Since then no one entered the quaint cafe, why would they when the multi-billion coffee company was just a few blocks away? But that was how things went in the modern world and besides Achelous Kallos didn't really care about coffee or how the unknown business panned out. As the ring of the bell pained his ears, the beautiful tourist left the coffee shop reminding him that he was still at his pointless and meaningless job.
Photography. That was his sole purpose on this earth, other than the pain he had to endure every time he saw Grace, taking photographs was his purpose. Being able to capture and treasure every moment that he witnessed in New York city thrilled him. Even now at the age of twenty one, having photographed for years he still found that beautiful freedom in taking a simple photo. Keeping a single image forever. For most of the day every day, he was stuck behind bars, well not bars, but an apron and a glass door. He jealously watched the city pass by him as he leaned his elbows on the wooden counter each day. Some days he would lock up early and sneak out just to capture some of the last magic moments of that day before darkness settled and in these early Spring days, it was hard to capture that blinding daylight. Sometimes he wished that he could just quit, hand over the apron to that overweight boss of his and live the life he always wanted to live. But he knew that wasn't possible seeing as he barely made rent each month with his poorly paid wages, the radiator in his apartment still hadn't been fixed and for quite some time the electricity had been cut altogether from his apartment.
It didn't seem to matter that he was layered in most of his own clothing and that he walked around his apartment with a candle stub in his hand for most of the winter, his passion for his art was what kept him going. The beauty about photography was that it could be done at any time in any place and so snapping pictures in the appealing dim candle light was something he would take advantage of. Taking pictures was not the only thing that got him through that rough Winter however, the company and shelter kindly offered by his friends could have gotten him through a year of that miserable time. He was expecting them sometime soon too, they were really the only people who visited the coffee house, one could say they were his regulars. It was a friday and as he wiped the counter for the seventh time since that morning, the weekend was drawing closer. He had a few extra dollars in his pocket and he was about to live the second weekend of being legal, he knew they had to do something. Well he hoped they would be doing something because after the long week he had at work, he needed this break, he needed a week's break in his opinion, but one good night planned by Brody might just do the trick.
AND I MISS YOU WHEN YOUR NOT AROUND
- - - - - -i'm getting ready to leave the ground
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template by me
lyrics by U2
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oh you look so beautiful tonight IN THE CITY OF BLINDING LIGHTS ------------------------------------------------------------------
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Grace arose late that morning for no particular reason, the loft was still warm from the
evening sun and the morning was only just beginning to shine through the curtains she
had hung above her bed. Heaving herself up she rubbed her eyes then reluctantly she
pulled the warm covers back. Like her two friends Grace wasn't exactly well off, but you
would never hear her complain one bit, she was happy with her life, she had a place to
stay and she always had her passion . Perhaps art was what drew her to Ace, but they
had been friends for soo long she could hardly remember, something about them just
seemed to click, now they spent their days living in lofts side by side and drinking warm
coffee from the small shop not far from home. Once Grace was awake there wasn't any
question about what she would be doing that day, throwing on the first thing she set
her eyes on the small girl made a bee line for her polaroid camera and skipped out of
the loft and continues on down the street. She knew that Ace would be up and ready,
serving coffee already and it was likely that Brody would be there at some point too.
As Grace pushed through the door of the coffee shop the familiar sound of the bell
rang through her ears. Holding her camera up she grinned "Smile!"she said as the
camera flashed right in her best friends face. The picture shot out of the camera and
she winked at Ace as she shook it and the picture came into focus. "Beautiful" she
chirped as she walked towards Achelous and pecked him on the cheek. Any stranger
would think her entrance rather odd, but her friends knew she was a free spirit and
very outgoing at that. Looking around the coffee shop she didn't see many customers
but smiled all the same, she was positive and knew that things would pick up oneday.
"The usual" she said laughing a little at Ace in his uniform, she had never really got
used to it, and always found ways to tease him about the apron he had to wear each
day. Though the coffee shop was empty her friend always seemed to survive, as did
she, managing to sell a few of her pieces of art and even attend a few art classes at
the local school. Grace had big dreams but New York had a way of sucking youin and
using these dreams to its advantage. She ha to wonder if any of the locals ever had
their dreams come true, the lifestyle was expensive and just like Ace, Grace had to
make do with candlelight and blankets to see and keep warm during the winter on
her minimal pay. "Come sit" she said, motioning to the seat next to her, her friend
could afford to take a little break, it didn't look like any more customers were going
to turn up out of the blue. The small business could barely survive thanks to the new
major corporations that Grace hated with a passion, they sucked the very life out of
the other businesses and as far as the twenty one year old was concerned, Starbucks
was heartless. Taking a sip from the freshly brewed soy latte she smiled and looked
out of the window longingly, she hoped they would be doing something fun tonight
afterall it was Friday and as far as Grace knew, Brody would have something planned
for the three of them that wouldn't stretch the budget to much. "Where's Brody?" she
asked Achelous, she had expected that he would already be there. Snapping another
quick picture Grace played with the beaded bracelet the she had plaited and knotted
around her small wrist. It read: toujours pur; always pure and she had worn it since
before she could remember. Looking up at Ace she smiled sweetly and awaited reply.
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