“But muuum! There really was someone out the window.” A childish voice came from the downstairs apartment.

“I’ve told you a million times already. You’re seeing things. There’s nobody out there. Why and how would somebody be out the window?” The mother chuffed, annoyed at her son’s usual antics.

Curious to see if the child was telling the truth, Zara rolled out of her bed and into the living room. Who the fuck is that? Zara stared at the window in shock, not knowing how to react to the fact that the child was right. And that there actually was someone’s head peeking out on the other side of the window.

She inched closer to see if the man needed some help, and noticed that his eyes were closed and that he was breathing heavily. What if he falls? Seeing how precarious his hold on the windowsill was, she went to open the window and help him up, only to jump back in shock when his eyes suddenly opened.

Oh no. She watched as the man’s grip loosened and he slipped off the window. The fall seemed to slow down tremendously in her eyes, and it felt like she was about to witness someone’s death.

Frozen in shock, she couldn’t even reach for the window before flames shot out of the man’s legs, propelling, keeping him up long enough to grab back onto the window. She forgot to move, staring at the scene in slack jawed amazement as the man continued to climb higher as if nothing had happened.

Scrambling to the window, she flung it open and looked up. She stared at the man, watching as he climbed higher and higher. What is he doing? Now watching him out of pure curiosity, she saw him stop at an open window, unstrap something from his hip and put it through the window.

Is that a delivery box? Did he climb up all this way... for a delivery? Zara looked between the man and the ground below as if it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

~

Phew. That was a close call, but at least I got that done. Flicking away the sweat, he took a deep breath and looked down for an easy way to leave. This is always the worst part. Spotting a head duck back inside through a window below him, he laughed to himself, and started climbing back down.

Taking things one step at a time, he climbed back down to the window from earlier, and noticed that the woman was still there, staring at him incredulously.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Hey! do you w-”

“I’m busy. I’ve got work to do.” Ed cut her off, not wanting to take part in whatever this rich woman’s twisted fantasies were. He at least had some sense of self worth, and wasn’t willing to sell himself to pay off his debt.

Ed continued to climb down the building, hoping that he’d be able to reach solid ground soon.

~

“I just thought he’d want to use the elevator.” Zara mumbled to herself after watching the man leave. So rude... Ooh! It’s almost time!

Throwing the encounter to the back of her mind, she hopped on the couch and turned the tv on. I’m so excited! Rubbing her hands together in glee, she settled in to watch her favourite show.

“May I have the first dance?” A dashingly handsome and charismatic young man in a suit and a mask asked, reaching his hand out to a woman in an elegant ball gown.

Come on! Take his hand! Zara urged, a smile on her face.

The show she was watching was incredibly popular among those in the lower city that had the time and money to sit around watching tv. It was predominantly set in the middle city of Neo Athens, but was about a young woman who had worked her way up from the lower city to pursue her dreams. Through many trials and tribulations, she managed to establish a happy and successful life for herself.

The show had long finished being recorded, it was the hottest show even back when her grandparents were young. But reruns of it had never stopped airing down in the lower city.

Every show on the air in the lower city had been meticulously crafted to establish an ideal image of what the city above was like. And to plant a seed in the mind of those who were watching, that if they worked just a little bit harder, one day they would get their lucky break and ascend to the middle city.

Every once in a while, stories would spread of people who managed to do just that. And for a while, they would become celebrities, heroes to the people of the lower city, and symbols that their dreams could come true. These people would then fade into obscurity, only for more like them to take their place.

The fact that all of these people became famous without fail was something that was never questioned by those watching. Whether that was because they genuinely believed that it was all true, or just that they needed something to latch onto as a means to escape from their bleak and depressing lives, none could tell.

But that did not matter. Because they believed in it regardless. And with that belief they pushed themselves as hard as they could. Turning themselves into highly productive and functioning members of society in pursuit of that glimmer of hope. Much to the benefit of those who lived above.

Zara was one of these believers. Having been lucky enough to be born into a family where both parents had stable careers, she grew up watching romance shows on tv, and was filled with dreams of one day marrying someone from the middle city. So that she could return the favour and provide for her parents when they grew too old to work.

Of course, this didn’t stop her from applying herself and working as hard as she could. She found a job working as a bartender at one of the more popular clubs in the city, knowing full well that its owner was one of the few people in the lower city that could help her achieve her dream.