literature

From the Other Side

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From the Other Side…

    There are events and things that occur within our lives that are mostly forgettable, never to be remembered or thought of again unless prompted to, or reminded, by probably another easily forgettable event.

    However, every once in a while, there are things that happen that we will never forget. Events so profound that, no matter what, will forever remain with us to the end of our days.

    An event like falling in love with someone from the other side…

    Typically, I never pay attention to the Glass Wall that separates my Society from any of the others. Sure I could go to the other Societies whenever I wanted if I chose to go through the Crossings. But it was so inconvenient and out of the way, I never really paid it much attention.

    The Glass Wall was just another forgettable object of scenery that I pass by  daily to get to work. A drab and boring routine it was: wake, dress, eat, grab my suitcase, and walk the hour or so to my office space in the building I worked.

    There, I would spend most of my day filing documents, filling out spread sheets, delegating other bills and info notices to any other employee more dedicated to the task than I.

    Sometimes, when I had a spot of free time, I would lean back in my chair, pondering the lives of others in the other Societies. Surely, there was another sorry sap like me fulfilling the same old boring routine of wake, dress, eat, grabbing their suitcase, and walking the hour or so to get to their office space in the building they worked.

    Life was, indeed, dull and Life-less.

    But then there was a happening…

    I awoke, donned my office suit, ate another variation of the same breakfast I usually eat, beheld my ever present suitcase, and began my trek to the office space that a majority of my life will probably whither away within.

    Occasionally, I would glance about, letting my eyes relieve themselves of whatever boredom I could manage. Taking in the other people on their routes to work, children on their route to school, the occasional bird overhead on their route to wherever it was that birds necessitated they flew. The buildings that stretched to the sky took up most of my vision. But it was the Glass Wall that drew my attention in that instant.

    Now, this was a very common thing, for me to see the people who walked from  on the other side. I would see hundreds of people through the little openings in between buildings, but never really see them. It was a dejectedly common thing. Why pay attention to any random face I happen to peer at on my lonesome walk, whether it was on my side or from the other side?

    But that one face stood out. One face from the other side that forced my feet to falter. To stop and stare was something I didn't do. Not part of my routine. And there she was, from the other side, staring at me, too.

    Judging by the look on her face, she was just as skeptical about me as I was her. What was it about her that made me stop? There were thousands of women's faces I had seen on the other side… but not one of them could I reminisce about.

    Hadn't she the same thing? Thousands of faces to pass her by without a second glance?

    I stared at her, and she at me, confused and uncertain about whatever it was that made both our paths mirror each other in that instant. Against my better judgment, I  moved closer to the Glass Wall.

    Although wary of my approach, she came toward the wall as well. And there we were. Two people, looking upon one another, politely smiling and waving a small greeting.

    We couldn't hear each other through the thick pane that made up the Glass Wall, but, through some unknown explanation, it seemed like the world quieted down, leaving us to fully take in the other.

    I was lost in her. I couldn't tell you if she was particularly beautiful or if she had any outstanding features that would possibly grab the attention of any other man, nor, at the time, was I particularly interested.

    After a moment's more, I smiled again and waved goodbye. She returned the gesture and we both walked off. Just before I lost sight of the Glass Wall, I turned back and took in a breath.

    She was there, on the other side, looking back.

    The day progressed like it normally did, but I quickly found my mind wondering back to the woman on the other side.

    Who was she? What was so special about her? Why was I so drawn to looking at her closer? Oh, so strange indeed.

    Work ended that night and I walked home, passing by the gap where I could see the Glass Wall. I didn't see her there. She must work different hours. I continued home, her face burned into my mind, never to leave me for many years to come.

    It was the next day that brought with it another great event.

    I woke, dressed, ate, grabbed my suitcase, and began my way to work. On my path there, I swallowed thickly, surprisingly, and mysteriously anxious, to get to the gap between the buildings to the Glass Wall.

    My feet picked up their pace, my eyes peering vigilantly forward, anticipating the familiar site from a usually repetitive scene that I'd come across thousands of times.

    Step after step, I grew more anxious, nervous even, about seeing her. The woman from the other side.

    After what felt like hours—although it couldn't have been more than half an hour, at most—I finally reached the gap.

    Cautiously, although I don't know why, I peered around the corner.

    There she was, on the other side.

    I absolutely could not help it. I stepped forward and practically jogged to the Glass Wall, where she stood smiling, offering me a short wave in greeting. I smiled broadly in kind, returning the wave.

    I don’t know what I was expecting. We couldn't do more than smile at each other, but I was compelled to at least offer her my presence as she did for me. We stood there, smiling and watching the other. It was after a moment more that she moved and pulled something from her purse.

    It seemed to be a notebook, opened to a marked page that was presented to me. I stepped closer, eager to communicate. Only to pout when I saw the scrawling upon the paper.

    She didn't speak my language.

    I gave her a sad shake of my head, telling her I didn't understand. She looked absolutely crestfallen, bringing a pain to my heart to see such a look of misery on her face.

    Her head fell as she put away the notebook. I wanted to do anything to see her smile again. I tapped on the Glass Wall, hopelessly as the Glass Wall was far too thick for her to hear it.

    She did notice me when she looked back up, seeing me pressed against the surface, hand sprawled open and pressed firmly against it.

    She smiled again, making my heart flutter and my lips turn up. Looking into my eyes, she reached up with her own hand, and placed it against the Glass Wall, matching my own hand's placement.

    It was the closest we could ever come to touching each other. The extent of our communication to smile at each other. The depth of our knowledge of one another by the expressions in our eyes.

    And so it came to be that I fell in love with the woman from the other side.

    I could tell you now that she was the most beautiful woman to grace this world. That I was so lucky a man to have noticed her angelic presence. That I was the one fortunate enough to be the object of her affections.

    My daily routine didn’t seem so drab anymore. I still woke, dressed, ate, grabbed my suitcase, and walked the hour or so to get to work, but there was a new obligation on that list now.

    One that I was more than happy to fulfill.

    To meet with the woman from the other side.

    Days, weeks, months, seasons, and years passed. Everyday, we would stop by our place in the Glass Wall, greet each other, smile at each other, and spend a few minutes "holding hands" through the Glass Wall.

    I've seen her smiling face, sunkissed by the summer sun, watching me on the other side, with her hair freely flowing about her head, framing her face in a beautifully captivating manner.

    I've seen her face, cheeks and nose stroked an adorable shade of red by freezing winds in the winter cold, watching me on the other side, with her hair hidden snuggly under a thick hat, face mostly obscured by a thick scarf. But her smile was still obvious from behind the warm material.

    For many years did we see each other, many years in love without ever saying a word, but telling each other everything we needed to. Many years being in love without ever touching each other, but being so intimately in contact through our hands and the Glass Wall. Many years being in love through a simple smile.

    Then, finally, came the greatest event to my memory of any before that.

    A fateful day when the earth shifted, pulling apart the tectonic plates that made up our world. And with the planet's angry tremors, did the Glass Wall begin to move. Slowly, the Glass Wall began to descend onto my side of Society, leaning into many of the buildings close enough to it.

    At first, I was terrified that any rubble that befell the earthquake had ruined our gap. Our one medium to see each other. I awoke early that day to rush to our gap. She wasn't there, but it was still a couple hours more until she normally arrived. I was thankful, however, to see that both my side and hers were clear of any obstruction. When the time came, we could still visit…

    But, I noticed something…

    The Glass Wall had fell upon my work building! I had time enough to go check it over and make sure no one was injured.

    With a rush, I made my way over, finding that the entire building had been cordoned off. A quick conversation with the officer there told me that everyone had evacuated safely with no injuries and that the building was off limits to prevent any from occurring.

    With a grateful thanks to the Officer, I made to turn away when I noticed something.

    To climb the wall was unfathomable; it stood too high for a ladder and too far from any building to leap across. The surface was bare of any grooves or handholds, so climbing wasn't even considered. What I had noticed then was the lip of the Glass Wall had actually collapsed onto my side of the building!

    Perhaps… just maybe…

    I snuck away from the Officer, making sure to remain unseen as I slipped passed the cordon lines. Quickly and excitedly, I made my way up the building to the floor that had collapsed under the Glass Wall's intrusion. The lip of the Glass Wall still stood too high and the stairwell had collapsed to any higher point.

    I was not going to give up here, not when I was so close to being on the other side.

    I took to the edge of the room, carefully navigating the rubble to the wall of the building. Just on the other side, was open air, a fall straight down to earth that would spell my doom if I should fall.

    Carefully, I put my feet on the edge, and reached up, finding various indentations in the concrete that I could hoist myself up.

    Hand over hand, step over step, lift and push after lift and push, I carried myself along the three more floors higher to get to the lip of the Glass Wall.

    With one final heave and effort, I pulled myself up to safety. I had one or two close calls when the winds buffeted my body as I progressed up the wall, but I remained in one piece in the end.

    I gasped and heaved, trying to collect my breath. My body ached and trembled from the exhaustion. My suit was soiled and torn in various places. I couldn't find myself to care. I had made it.

    Bellowing out my laughter, praising my success, I stood up and approached the Glass Wall. For that moment, when my foot stepped upon it, my heart leapt in my chest, suddenly beating faster than it had a moment ago.

    The Glass Wall was angled so perfectly that I could slide all the way down safely. It was all that stood between me and the woman from the other side.

    With a final victorious cry, I jumped and slid all the way down the Glass Wall. Regardless of my age, I found myself laughing hysterically on my way down. The slide exhilarating me beyond the moments I would slide as a child.

    At the bottom of this trip, was her.

    The one from the other side!

    My heart was beating so fast, I was so happy, my anticipation so great, I neglected to catch myself when I made it to the bottom.

    With my feet striking the ground at such a fast pace, by body lurched forward and I tumbled across the ground. I fell facing upward and spread out like Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. My body complained of new aches and pains, but the huge smile on my face and the victorious spirit within did not heed it.

    I scrambled back to my feet, ignoring the many curious faces of the people watching me from the other side. I was focused now on getting to our gap.

    Quickly glancing at my watch, I saw that it was just about time for us to meet.

    Oh, how I looked forward to seeing her look of surprise when she saw who awaited  her where she usually waited for me, on the other side.

    The suspense was next to unbearable when I noticed a very familiar gap between buildings. Although it was from the other side, there was no mistaking it.

    Grinning from ear to ear, I rounded the corner and sat down. Hoping to catch my breath before her arrival.

    In my head, I fantasized about the many scenarios that could play out with this meeting.

    Her surprised and happily shocked expression at my unexpected arrival from the other side.

    Her laughing and flinging herself into my open arms, letting me embrace her passionately.

    Our mutual celebration that we could finally meet the one who lived on the other side.

    I smiled to myself, happily awaiting the moment for her to arrive. Awaiting that moment to hear her voice for the first time, to feel her hand for the first time, to know her name, her likes, her dislikes, her dreams and aspirations, her hobbies, her favorite colors, her favorite foods, her favorite animal, the music she likes, favorite memories, anything and everything about her!

    There I sat, waiting and smiling for that moment when I could finally meet the woman from the other side. But time went on and on without her coming by. I checked my watch again, making sure I had gotten the time correct. It was almost a full half hour after our normal meeting time.

    I began to worry. Had she been injured? Was she sick? Perhaps she's a nurse and taking care of someone who was injured?

    Solemnly, dreading that maybe today was not the day that I was going to see her, I turned toward where I knew a Crossing was to get back to my side.

    But I stopped. I was greeted by a sight that I had not expected to see. I  couldn't help myself, I had to smile.

    There she was, gazing back at me happy as can possibly be. Her hand open and reaching out to me.

    Tears of joy fell from both our eyes as we both reached out… and touched glass.

    There she was. The woman I loved. Looking back at me, love equally as passionate as my own, smiling…

    …from the other side.

A man and a woman fall in love through the Glass Wall of their Societies, a love that transcends earthly obstacles...
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