The Rains

What would you do?

I peer out my window as my hands pull back my emerald green curtains a few centimetres. The brightly shining sun blazes beams of light down onto my face. The gentle warmth of the sun spreads across my body. The once bustling streets of New York below me are now deserted and have been for many years now, with not a soul in sight. The streets of the city have been abandoned ever since the acid rain had started. Very few people are brave enough to go on the streets to grab supplies and leave the safety of their own homes, and risk getting infected.

The acid rain has caused over nineteen million deaths of innocent lives so far throughout the state of New York. It has killed enormous amounts people that were going by their day to day life. No one knows why, but the acid rain only occurs in the state of New York, and as a result, they have closed the borders of the state from the entire world. That way it is made sure that no one ever comes in, and no one ever leaves. The state government has shut down and collapsed here, so there are no rules anymore, and there is no economy of any kind. New York used to be one of the greatest cities of all time, known as the empire state from across the world, with towering skyscrapers. People still know about New York though, just not for the same reasons.

I wasn't always living here. I was originally born in the United Kingdom and attended Cambridge University, graduating with a master's degree in journalism. My family never wanted me to leave Europe, however, I had big dreams for myself, the type of dreams that could only come true in an incredible place like New York. I left to live here 13 years ago when I was 22, to pursue my dream to become a journalist. NBC had offered me a once in a lifetime job to become the first female primetime anchor for the nightly news, which I gratefully accepted. I worked there for approximately seven years and it was everything that I could have ever wished for. The community had honoured my successful news stories, whether it was from investigating serial killers to reporting on mass shootings. My Pulitzer Prize award now seems irrelevant and a little bit selfish to the world we are living in today.

I glance out of my window and look over to the barren streets that have been unoccupied for many years now. The streets have been resting only metres away from me, yet I continue to remain in my apartment rarely leaving. Thoughts of whether or not I should leave my apartment race through my mind. The uncomfortable feeling of an empty stomach inside of me has now become particularly uncomfortable. The thought of being stuck in my apartment for even five more minutes makes me queasy, due to the fact I haven't left home for several months now. I gently place my hands on my white, flaky window seal and slide up the window frame as far as it goes. I take my right leg, lift it up, and slowly guide one foot through the window frame and place it on the rusty fire escape outside my building. My other foot and body follow through, and once I am out, my legs bend down on the cold metal floor as I crouch down making myself as small as possible trying not to be seen leaving my apartment. I am not wanting to cause any disturbance, and not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to myself. I take deep slow breaths breathing in the clear air that surrounds me.

Sometimes I imagine the old aroma of New York is still here. The one before the acid rain had started. What was once a musky air smell that lingered in the atmosphere, is now a putrid scent that smells faintly of rotting flesh. There is no longer a strong odour of moisture combined with the smell of awful car fumes that put together, smelt toxic. Anyone visiting the city couldn't bear to breathe in that smell, however to me it reminded me of home, and without it I feel empty inside. With nearly all of the city's population dead, the streets are left empty. There are no more car fumes and rotting trash smell and the air is the clearest it has ever been.

My feet rest on each bar of the rusty ladder with every step I take. Patting noises surround my ears with each step I make on the bumpy metal steps, which send vibrations that surge up through my body. The footpath below me soon arrives within range. One foot followed by the other, the hard-concrete path makes contact with the sole of my shoes. I tilt my head forward scanning the area in front of me looking for the safest route to travel.