The cities are not like he remembers them: busy and crowded and so modern that it feels alien--there are computers and cars and it makes his temples pound after a few hours. It takes longer than he'd like to work his way to the quieter neighborhoods, where things are slower and sleepier, though there are still trappings of technology and worse even out here.
He keeps walking.
It's a little like trying to find certain rooms in his own shop: only when he stops consciously looking for it does he find the real thing, the gates thrown open wide, and stone dogs that wuffle greeting to him as he passes.
D crosses the courtyard, like something out of memories of long ago, and knocks. He waits.
The door opens, and the man on the other side of the door is unchanged, too. If he's surprised, it doesn't show on his smooth face; he doesn't smile, but there's a pleased light in his dark eyes. They nod to each other, and D holds up the small package he has cradled to his chest this entire journey.
"It's been a long time," he says.
His country nods, and perhaps smiles just a little. Nearly everything has changed: but this, at least, is still the same.
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Date: 2009-08-09 10:37 pm (UTC)The cities are not like he remembers them: busy and crowded and so modern that it feels alien--there are computers and cars and it makes his temples pound after a few hours. It takes longer than he'd like to work his way to the quieter neighborhoods, where things are slower and sleepier, though there are still trappings of technology and worse even out here.
He keeps walking.
It's a little like trying to find certain rooms in his own shop: only when he stops consciously looking for it does he find the real thing, the gates thrown open wide, and stone dogs that wuffle greeting to him as he passes.
D crosses the courtyard, like something out of memories of long ago, and knocks. He waits.
The door opens, and the man on the other side of the door is unchanged, too. If he's surprised, it doesn't show on his smooth face; he doesn't smile, but there's a pleased light in his dark eyes. They nod to each other, and D holds up the small package he has cradled to his chest this entire journey.
"It's been a long time," he says.
His country nods, and perhaps smiles just a little. Nearly everything has changed: but this, at least, is still the same.
"Come inside," he says, and D does.