Chapter 08: Cities and Names 05

In this city, names had seemed less significant than the horizon and the trees that beckoned in the distance, both of which had somehow already disappeared, without warning or explanation. What was their significance now? He could not help himself. It was a need, to pull the names out of his mouth and scream them aloud.

The name itself seemed familiar, but the image of it only became so once he saw the block and the neighborhood that his view brought with it. Once, he would have been struck with awe at this sight. Now, the name seemed more distant than ever. Only a semblance of recognition seemed to hold it in place.

He became excited for an instant when he recognized the alleyway, but his excitement was too small, too limited. It had not been a city. The skyline and the trees that still stood here did not make it a city.