DIVISION 52 - BOOK II

CHAPTER XLIX

"I've always liked fountains too..." She mused in the same even timbre. The blur changed shape as if to lean against the other side.

"Verde is more impressive." I said without thinking about it. But surely many from the outer sectors would know of it. That place was a garden of Eden in the middle of smoke and metal.

She chuckled regardless. The sound was slightly older than my own, lower but smooth. 

"So why sit here staring at scrap metal? Go see something better." She answered, like everything was as simple as acting on impulse. 

"Maybe there's nothing wrong with scrap metal once in a while." I hedged, propping my cheek against my hand as more sunlight caught the crystalline jets of water and made it more beautiful. The shape before the water stood and moved around it. I was marginally curious and caught sight of a woman in a simple jacket with reddish hair. Her voice matched her appearance, marginally older.

I eyed her as she stopped a few metres away.

"I should warn you–if you're attempting to harvest my organs or recruit me into your gang I will not come quietly." I muttered.

This made her roll her eyes and prop her forearms against the metal edge as I did. Her dark blue eyes caught the light.

"I'm just here for conversation with a stranger and to enjoy the fountain." She answered, watching the light as it reached higher peaks of water that shot above us. "–Besides you look like you can use that gun."

I snorted. You have no idea how right you are. But I decided on a safe answer.

"You've got to be the first person in this city I've met with such little ambition."

"I haven't got a lot of that lately." She answered distantly. 

"You make it sound like a bad thing. It sounds nice appreciating what's in front of you." I murmured, tracing the sparkling drops of water that cascaded back into the basin below. There were few fusion crafts in the sky. A beautifully peaceful bit of respite before life started up again in the city and I was sharing it with a complete stranger.

She tilted her head at me.

"So, you think less is more?" She asked calmly.

I shrugged and eyed her. "I've had a lifetime of more and it only gets you so far. More tends to get in the way of the people you want in your life. More tends to demand things from you. Less may not fulfil you the same way... but it would make everything so god damn simple." I sighed, shaking my head. I suddenly realised myself and turned away. "Sorry that was heavy–"

"I needed to hear it." She answered with a far away look. I frowned at the strange mix of thoughts that passed over her.

"Sure..." I muttered.

She caught my gaze and relaxed again. "Ignore me. I've had a long week."

A chuckle bubbled from my lips. "I can agree with you. I shot someone and was cheated on. Now I'm thinking of going after the bitch myself."

A stark look of shock passed over her briefly before she controlled it and settled on disbelief. She flexed her hand on the metal and shook her head, "Will that really help you?"

"God no. But it might make me feel better." I retorted, looking past the water to the towers of glass and metal beyond. The silence settled between us once more. Only the distant hum of fusion crafts and the early morning sounded. If she had wanted something from me I am sure she would have acted already... Perhaps some people in this city just wanted solitude among strangers too.