Pan POV
I grew up in a town by the sea called Beach Town and it is the nearest town with beautiful, non-polluted getaways from the city. I grew up hearing our neighbors talking about the ignorant pleasure of the visitors who came to satisfy their hot- and cold-bloodedness in the clear salt waters on the shorelines. The city people really like beaches. I guess the city is a lot hotter with tall buildings trapping the heat, causing urban heat island and resulting in the temperature to drastically rise. PP's dad, Uncle Pet, is one of the supervising heads succeeding Papa five years ago.
Our Beach Town has this strict implementation of conserving the precious beaches that create jobs for many locals including me. No beaches mean no jobs, except fishing. I used to work part-time in a family-owned resort. PP's mom, Aunt Baleen, currently manages it. I worked there as a reservation assistant, a dishwasher and 'handsome spotter' every weekend. I like 'handsome spotter' the most—Australians, Koreans, Russians and many more. I guess you know what I mean.
Swimming in the beach and picnic with friends and my closest cousins were part of my memories in Beach Town. The sound of the waves striking the white porous sand as if they were singing me the calming hums of the ocean and preparing me to dive into the water is an everyday melody. I really, really, really love to swim because it feels like I own the sea and I belonged to the seas.
I always go to the beach to swim with PP and Sam Paul J, PP's younger brother. Beach is free, so with the food and everything. Constant bathing suntanned my skin. Not so dark, just perfectly toned tan. I describe my skin 'olive' sometimes.
Papa gave his wristwatch as a lucky charm.
"OMEGA..."
He said it was the first watch to reach the moon. I dunno if it's true. This time the watch has to be handed to another Napoléon in the family. It is a vintage watch with pure stainless steel. Though it is kinda old and not working, my Papa said the true value of this watch lies within. He cannot find any shop to have it repaired, so it's not working for a while now. I ask him why it stopped working but didn't answer and remained silent. I guess it stopped working because its mechanisms were timed with age and it is possible that it will work again.
My Mama just hugged me tightly. I felt her deep affection and warmth that resonates through her hug. Nonetheless, accompanied by her hugs and kisses were a spoken handbook of Dos and Don'ts. Living in the city with hundreds of crazy things is irresistibly indulging. The Beach Town is totally a different world compared to the shimmering lights of the city.
"I hope the city won't change the child in you Pan," my grandmother told me as she hugged me. I can't understand what she is telling but I guess that is something I should not change for my grandparents. Beach Town goodbyes made me teary. The very essence of family and friends can be felt here. The waves are your entertainment. The sun is your only spectator when you enjoy the breeze of the water coming from all directions and it cautions you of the burns it marks on your back. The people are your friends. The sand is a blank slate where you write your name and even dreams, then the waves erase it for others to write their own minds, as well.
Driving a car to the city will take 3 hours or more. Nee needs to drive for that long because no one will. Papa is an excellent driver, but he cannot tolerate a long drive because he often falls asleep while driving. I, on legal age to drive, can have a driver's license, but I don't want to have a license. I don't want to learn how to drive a car. Bike and scooters are Ok. Sidecars are another option with motorbikes as exceptions. Convertibles are negotiable because they are cool.
You couldn't expect cities with a top 10 ranking to have buildings with only 8 floors or less. The skyscrapers tower up above each other like they are contesting to reach the clouds. The sky is truly the limit. Towering skyscrapers are always new and fascinating, so I speak. Not to mention, they are actually "a pain in the neck". You cannot stop your eyes from measuring how far it was built or if it was really a product of genius architecture and engineering. In spite of the "whoa" effect, the city is an everyday furnace; it is very hot. The heat is burning, piercing through my skin. Seeing these buildings makes me small. The world is truly big for me but in some ironic way, it's too small for all people in the world.
"I need to hold my backpack tightly in front of me," I whispered to myself.
Everything is strange in a way that all people are always moving and as I look at the different faces of the people passing through me, I felt I am a total stranger and I am nobody hoping to hear a simple "Hi" from them.
The people I meet wear different faces in them and are totally soaked in the city way. The girls are wearing shorts with 80 percent of their skin exposed to other's eyes. I am wondering if they had to apply sunscreen all over their bodies.
How can they endure such heat rising above normal body temperature?
Did they practice faking their "ouch" looks by showing an "Oh-I-love-the -heat/ enjoy-the-heat" look? ... because they did it perfectly!
These girls, whom I watch walking in front of me, are truly incredible. Some have flawless skin, fair and celebrity-like composure. Some, I call them incredible because they have the guts to dress that way. They may be hideously unattractive because they flaunt something that isn't appropriate for ten-year-olds to see 🤢🤢.
Parading the cleavage and showing the blessedness of their bosom. Oh, my Gee! For a decent woman, it is a disgrace of womanhood. I am sure you know what I mean. I don't want to be mean by my judgments to them because it is their choice to wear that way. But I cannot move my eyes to another direction nor close them because she or they is/are walking in my direction. Closing my eyes would make me stumble and fall. My bag is so heavy. If only I can tell her that she's oddly exalted by men that looked at her savagely and by other women of her age crossing their eyebrows viciously.
Gee! If PP wears this, I'll critic her without thinking we're cousins.
The girls I meet stared at me and they do not blink. They have this expression of losing energy and they cannot stop looking at me with that kind look. One girl sitting on a chair bit her lips while staring at me. I looked at her angrily. She replied curling her straight hair. Gee! Another girl signaled me to call her. Absurd! I should use these actions. The girls in my previous university were too reserve to do this lasciviousness.
Should I act like I don't care?
Not only women caught my attention. There were men, too. I think it is normal for them to wear casual outside. Some wear very formal attire. Others, on the other hand, have swayed the sidewalk for their oozing self-confidence, like those women I met, they also have this kink that embodies them. The way on their walk. The wink on their right eye. The groomed hair with a wet look effect. I can say there are hundreds of Metrosexuals in this city.
The supposed confidence opposed by the hiding of insecure hands inside the pockets—this is what I want to understand. That is why I took Psychology. But I think I still have to uncover more about different people. I don't even understand the "true me" until now. Not even a fraction of my consciousness fully comprehended the subtle and mysterious "Me".
Not even Nee nor PP, nor everyone wholly understands themselves.
On top of this, there are a lot of handsome guys walking and driving around. I cannot choose. I guess the city is a hub of charming Princes. Whoa! the world is so blessed with beautiful people. Yet, my Papa differed by using a joke saying "if there are many beautiful people in the world, there is an outbreak of awful-looking people out there". I don't know if he meant the physical or the attitude.
I have a feeling that Claude is inferior to these guys and I have the feeling that I might have a hard time choosing the best of all the superiors!
Let the selection begin!