The Dream That Was

Decadence - 1986

          Sandford had vertigo looking down twenty-two stories to the ground. He was atop the tallest of the many new condominium towers that Villeneuve had recently built in Urbia. The workers had just left for the day so he was alone. He stood tall and looked out over his city. He felt an empty gnawing inside.

It was a common feeling that he had felt ever since Dagny took over the company. He never knew his daughter could be such a snake. He had trusted and loved her, and yet she did such a horrible thing to him. Sandford knew that he would never have any say in the goings on at Villeneuve again. He had dreamed of working with Dagny at the company, but now he was working under her.

The skyline of Urbia had drastically changed since its early years. He remembered when the three story apartments looked so ominous towering over the bungalows and two storey houses. Then the taller apartments followed with the office and medical towers subsequent to them. Now there were more and more condominium high-rises popping up on the landscape. They were very popular with buyers. It was a time of opulence and decadence in the real estate industry. After the recession, things really picked up and everything became bigger and more luxurious.

He walked over to the other side of the unfinished floor of the condo. The walls had yet to be erected this high up on the building. All that existed were concrete slabs and posts. They were like stark planes and volumes around Sandford. Soon these planes would be morphed into beautiful condominium suites. These would be people's homes.

When he reached the east edge of the floor he held tightly onto the security fence that was the only division between him and the sky. Sandford thought that he would feel a lot safer if it was a large piece of glass in front of him rather than the metal rail. But that would all come with time.

From this side of the building he was able to view the new luxury condominium townhouse complex that was nearing completion. It was called Carriage Lane, and was enclosed by a stone wall. The residents would pay high condominium fees to have their complex maintained. Sandford remembered the first townhouses in Urbia. They were meant for people with lower incomes. These townhouses, on the other hand, were very expensive. They were lavish and were marketed to an exclusive crowd.

Things had changed a lot since Dagny took over Villeneuve, and even since the amalgamation with Brampton. It seemed that for the past ten years the only types of housing to be built were for the middle to higher incomes. The lower income housing was not a priority any more. It was a sure sign that the original meaning and purpose of Urbia had been lost. Dagny wanted to make lots of money, which was what she cared about. She was greedy. Greed was a dangerous thing.

Today, the place that was dreamt of as the new city of Urbia was nearly unrecognisable to Sandford. It was his creation, but now he had no power over it. It was in Dagny's hands. He might as well be overlooking the moon, and not his dream city. He shuddered at the thought of what she might do next. There was no way to tell. Dagny was a wild card.

Maybe he got it all wrong, Sandford thought. Maybe it had been a bad design in the first place. Urbia was supposed to foster his children to become good people. But it just did not work. His daughter turned out to be a power hungry, uncaring monster. Horatio turned out to be gay, and had a problem with drugs and alcohol, although he had heard that he was clean now. None of this was supposed to happen. They were supposed to grow up as upstanding people.

What was wrong with Urbia? Why could he not see it, Sandford thought. Nothing turned out the way it should. He sighed. But alas, it still was his dream city. He nevertheless loved Urbia as much as he did when he had dreamt of it. Sandford would never lose that love.