The Box
Julien took the usual walk home from the city bus stop. His route was straightforward—a left turn on Clancy Street, then a right on Murray Ave. Two blocks later, he would be home. It was dusk. The sun was fading fast into the city skyline of Brooklyn, New York. Julien’s black pants and black t-shirt were dusted with flour from frying fish all day at the Lake Trout shop where he worked as a short-order cook. Julien wished for a different life. A better Life. He always dreamed of being in a different reality. A reality that didn’t contain fish, grease, and grime. He wanted a better way to live. He didn’t know what that meant or how to manifest it, but the burning desire flamed his motivation to carry on. He was 21 years old, with no prospects of a different future. He graduated from high school but didn’t aspire for any more education yet; he did have a wish. Perhaps not what most wished, but he used his imagination, often a way to escape the harsher realities of his existence.