Sam walked up the stairs of the tallest building she could find. Even if she didn't know where to go, at least she could see everything. As she walked, she felt the building stretch out around her, felt it grow bigger and bigger. The stairs added to themselves, becoming more and more, until she felt like she had walked miles and miles and not moved an inch.
Still, she did not give in. She was determined to figure out this place, so she kept walking, discarding her shoes on some undetermined floor, her arm gripping the railing.
Finally, she came to the top floor where the stairs stopped. She opened the door and found herself on the roof of the building, only sky surrounding her. She gasped for breath and had to stop herself from hyperventilating, then slowly calmed down.
She slowly moved her feet forward and walked towards the edge of the roof. Luckily, there was a rail there to prevent her fall, so she gripped it with white knuckles and looked down.
There it was. The city. There was every building, every street, as far as she could see. It stretched out for so long, not even ending at the horizon. As she looked down, she saw as the city rearranged itself again, only this time into something different.
It was a face. It was making itself into a face, lakes for eyes and a tall building for a nose. She could see as the colors of the buildings changed, shading the face, making it a mixture of pale pink and brown for hair and
And it was her face. The face the city was transforming into was her own. The city was becoming her. And she knew.
It was always her. She hadn't been lost in a city. She had been lost in herself. She had been hiding from herself.
She felt the wind whip around her, felt her hair falling away from her face. The railing she had been holding onto had disappeared and now she was standing on the edge of the roof looking down at herself-as-a-city and she knew what she had to do.
if she was down there, she couldn't be up here, too. she couldn't be here and be the city. so the city had to be the real one. she had to let go. she let go and fell forward.
she let the city take her
