New York.

I’m on a ferry going nobody knows where.

I’ve packed my things, taking good care to bring all the clothes and books I’m most fond of, along with a few small reminders of people and places I care about back home.

I’m travelling in a crowd of young people all around my own age, and the general feeling is that of a 6^th grade going on a school trip. Everybody’s mainly happy and excited, but there’s also a touch of unrestrained flirting amongst singles and part of couples alike, leading to drama and bickering.

I myself have already had sex with the young man sharing my cabin, which was lovely but meant nothing emotionally. It merely satisfied a craving.

As days have passed and the ferry not yet reached it’s destination, we begin to worry a bit about where we’re going, especially as the temperature has dropped to nearly freezing point, and no one has been warned about this, and so haven’t packed suitable clothes for such weather. I rifle through my suitcase and end up putting on 3 pairs of tights underneath my shorts.
Some of us have gone to the bridge to spy, and saw the captain studying a map with a clearly marked route going to Antarctica, which none of us are happy about, as we’ve been so unprepared.
Worries prove unfounded though, as the next day, the ferry has docked in the harbour of New York!
There’s a happy, playful mood amongst everyone as we walk ashore.
The party soon breaks up, as not all of us wants to go in the same direction. Nothing has been planned, and nobody seems to be in charge, so everyone can do whatever they want.

Along with a couple of the others, we decide to rent bikes, so we can get around faster, and see more of the city. As we mount and begin cycling, we quickly come to a steep downwards hill, continuing further than we can see. We begin freewheeling, and suddenly it strikes me: ‘Do you realize where we’re going?’ I ask the girl riding next to me, and before she answers, I happily shout ‘We’re going downtown! Downtown New York!’ We quickly come up with a call and response song, where one person sings ‘Are we going to London?’ and the others sing back NO! We’re going doooowntoooown New Yooooork, doooowntooown’, then another asks ‘Are we going to Paris?’ the rest replies, etc etc. The wind is in our hair as we move faster down the hill, we are happy and exuberant.

When we reach ‘downtown’, we leave our bikes and continue on foot. After a few minutes we reach a square where an ensemble consisting only of double basses plays the most beautiful tunes. I run back to the ones who have dawdled behind to grab my friend Henrik, himself a professional double bass player of many years, and pull him to the front, telling him ‘You’re gonna love this!’ And it is indeed beautiful. Around 10 double basses playing the most gorgeous melodies, deep and humming, each of them taking turns to do a solo bit on top of the rest. I listen in awe, and regret I’ve never taken the time to master an instrument.

As night begins to fall, I am no longer with my friends. I know I must figure out how I wish to spend my time here.
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I wake up totally bored with my life, longing to travel and experience new things.