A Sea Change: a novel by Will Barnett

Author:Will Barnett [Barnett, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Coming of age, books and readers
Publisher: Owl Canyon Press
Published: 2022-12-24T00:00:00+00:00

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IX.

CAteR’s BoOkSTOrE ~ tHE CitY

I begin to walk, no specific locus in mind. I walk with my head down at first, quickly dancing through the crowds of people. I feel incredibly anxious, simultaneously I can feel the beginnings of something deep down in my nervous system that hasn’t been provoked for a while. This is the first time in what feels like forever that I have wandered and noticed the city. I cross Bern Square hastily and turn left down Bern Street away from the apartment complex. This is the longest I have voluntarily been alone in public for years. It feels incredibly strange. I don’t know the city very well, as I never explore it, so I just keep on down Bern Street. Surrounding me are large buildings. Some offices, some apartment buildings, some stores. The smells of the city are faintly familiar. I can feel an energy in the air that I haven’t for some time. I am not sure if this is a common occurrence for most people, but it is something I can remember. In every city I have visited, I can feel a different energy. The excitement for life, newfound prospects, individualism. This used to fill me with curiosity and elation, but now I feel unsettled by the whole spectacle. A multitude of different people pass me by; a mass heterogeneity. I try to ignore them, act as if I have something more important to do than make eye contact. I just let my strides freely direct me like the rudder of a ship.

A ways down Bern Street I come to a sidestreet. It seems to hold the possibility for something mildly compelling. I look up at the rectangular sign announcing the street’s name. It reads “Belfast ‘’. Interesting, Northern Ireland gets a street here, I suppose. I read a novel a little while ago that took place in Belfast. It was about two friends; one protestent and the other Catholic. The timeline is shortly before and then immediately after the IRA ceasefire in 1994. It was quite good. I decide on this street rather than Nuku’alofa street, which is the next one down. I believe that is the capital of Tonga. Nothing against Tonga, I just have a better feeling about Belfast Street. Literature has certainly taught me quite a bit about geography. Can you imagine a majority of people in this city trying to pronounce that name? Then I consequently begin to wonder what other capitals the city has chosen to include. Does Vatican City get a street, is there an Andorra La Vella Street? Jerusalem would certainly be a controversial one, or maybe Palestine and Israel could decide to share for once.

Belfast Street is much more quiet than the other main streets and squares. I feel myself relax slightly as I look up and see hardly anyone walking towards me. About thirty feet down this street I stop and lean against the outer brick wall of a shop. I marginally come out of my torpefied and insensate state.

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