Short story // From the countryside to the city

I wake up early to the singing of nocturnal birds and grasshoppers. The window is open and I can hear the soft sound of rustling leaves as the wind blows on the birch trees. I smile as I see my wife sleeping soundly while clinging on to the blanket. Her face looks so cute when she's sleeping. I rise up from the bed and close the window before it gets too cold - wouldn't want to it disturb her sleep. I leave the bedroom and take a quick look at her soft cheeks before I go. I make myself a cup of coffee and go outside. I sit on the small cliff by the veranda and watch as the sun rises in the horizon painting everything in shades red and orange with its rays. As I take a deep breath I can smell the fresh scent of dew and the fresh coffee in my mug. I drink my coffee and have a final look at the breathtaking scenery.

I get ready for work and give my half-sleeping wife a kiss on her cheek. She mumbles something in response. I take the first morning train and sit down by the window. As the train takes off, I look at the scenery changing from large fields and lush forests into tall buildings and busy crowds. People everywhere are on their way to work or school. I arrive at my stop and step out into the seemingly endless masses of people. I walk towards a tall building right across the station. I see business men in suits and people selling newspapers on a news stand. Some people are running for their buses and some too tired to do nothing else but cling on to their coffees with a half-sleeping look on their faces. As I approach the front doors of the skyscraper, I see people enter through the glass doors of the building in streams. I stop there for a second and look at the sky. The sun is shining on the sky is blue making the glass windows of the building look like a giant mirror by an ocean. I think to myself what a beautiful day and enter through the doors to my work place.

This is a revision of my old English essay I wrote in high school. I don't know where the original is so I just wrote this from the back of my head. I got 110/100 points, more than the maximum amount because the teacher liked it so much. Honestly this was just romanticized story about my real home. The essay exam had a few topics to choose from and one of them was my ideal place to live. I always loved living close to the nature yet not too far from the city so actually I was already living in such a place. It only takes a few steps to enter the forest from our yard and 35 minutes to the city center by train. This was the first time I had a real inspiration in writing so I remember everything so clearly. Sweet memories!