The Modern Age of the Mysterious

"After dark, if someone calls you from behind, don't look back."

—New Testament Proverbs

After a two-day transoceanic voyage, Sean Dickinson stepped off the "Golden Age" cruise ship and set foot on the land of the Newlander Commonwealth for the first time in his life.

The sky will be late, and the rain will continue. In the distance, under the gloomy sky, the roof of the Divine Kingdom Building plunged straight into the clouds, like the pillars of heaven and earth.

The raindrops hit the umbrella above and made a crisp sound. Sean walked forward, shoes carefully away from the puddle. The slightly fishy sea breeze mixed with the muddy taste.

The street outside the pier was a little quiet. When Sean looked around with an umbrella, a black taxi stopped in front of him.

The driver, a fat man in his fifties who looked very kind, looked at Sean through the window, with a reassuring smile on his face: "Holy Father bless you, sir. It looks like you need a ride."

Sean sighed fortunately: "You came in time."

The driver got out of the car in the rain, took the travel bag, opened the back seat door, and let Sean get into the car. Sean felt warmer.

Returning to the driver's seat, the driver started the vehicle and muttered: "The weather this year is really hell. It's raining so much! - Where are you going?"

"The Fog and Rose Hotel. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, on Ninth Avenue."

The Ford car slowly drove out of the dock area.

…

Sean looked out the car window. It was getting dark quickly, and the bustling and blurred side of the metropolis gradually woke up.

The man in the suit sat on the high chair and let the boy in the peaked cap attentively polish his shoes. The man struck a match, lit a cigarette, and the flames instantly illuminated his angular face.

Under the neon sign of "Dorothy Nightclub", a small band of three is playing jazz, the black trumpet player is very engaged, the old leather shoes are beat on the ground, and the bulging cheeks are shiny.

The huge movie poster was illuminated by spotlights, and the poster depicted a man with a mustache in a bowler hat. He smiled at passers-by in an ill-fitting suit, "Jojo's first sound film - "Modern Times"!"

I don't know if he was hallucinating or not. Out of the corner of the eye, Sean noticed that Jojo on the poster blinked and looked again, but his expression was still fixed.

"Are you from Leon?" The driver George glanced at Sean in the rearview mirror.

Pulled back by George's voice, Sean nodded knowing that the other party could hear his accent.

"New York City is a good place." George smiled. "Young people like you should go out and walk more."

"I'm not here to play."

"What are you here for? Are you here to talk business?" Taxi drivers love to chat, and George is no exception.

Sean sighed, "I'm here to find someone."

"A debtor?" George raised his eyebrows with a smile on the corner of his mouth, "Or a lover?"

After a little hesitation, Sean decided to tell the truth: "I'm here to find my sister. She came to New York City a month ago, and it's been over ten days that she hasn't heard from her."

The smile on George's face faded: "Sorry, I think you should report a case to the precepts office, and go to the newspaper to post a missing person notice or something... What's your sister's name? Maybe I can help you find out. "

Sean said solemnly, "Arya Dickinson."

"Arya..." After George muttered softly, the carriage fell silent.

"It's foggy?" Turning his eyes out of the car window again, Sean was a little surprised. The streets and neon lights that were originally clear have now been wrapped in thick fog and become ambiguous. The noise in the street also became dull.

George sighed, "This ghost weather..."

The fog was so thick that only the taillights of the car in front could be seen. The traffic started to be congested, the taxi could only move slowly, and the urging whistle sounded constantly in the traffic flow, which made Sean feel a little irritable.

George patted his forehead: "There is a parade on Central Avenue tonight, I forgot!"

"Celebration parade?"

George turned around: "Celebrating the first anniversary of the lifting of Prohibition - do these lunatics come every year?"

The taxi was stuck in the stagnant traffic, and in the thick fog ahead, there were faint sounds of music and people singing.

"I won't be able to walk for a while." George patted the steering wheel.

Sean looked at his watch: "How far is it from the hotel?"

"It's not far, turn two blocks, and you can get there in ten minutes."

"Okay." Sean glanced at the meter, it showed 57 cents, he counted out a 60 cent coin and handed it to George, "Don't look for it."

Sean got out of the car and closed the door, took the travel bag, and walked to the sidewalk.

George shouted from behind, "God will bless Arya!"

Sean turned back, the thick fog had covered George's face.

"Thank you." In response, Sean walked onto the sidewalk.

The foggy day was cloudy and cold, Sean wrapped his coat tightly and walked towards the hustle and bustle.

After walking for about five minutes, the fog dissipated abruptly, and the street became bright again.

The shredded paper flowers fluttered in the air, like shining snow falling.

A marching band played cheerful music, people dressed in beautiful clothes, surrounded a large flower basket in the shape of a wine bottle, cheering and walking.

Some sang and danced, some hugged and kissed, and some looked at each other and laughed. There was joy on people's faces.

Sean looked a little out of place. He erected his collar and walked silently, just wanting to hurry to the hotel to rest. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com

Perhaps it was this sense of detachment that made passers-by look sideways at Sean who was in a hurry.

Sensing that someone wanted to talk to him and didn't want to waste time, Sean quickened his pace.

Bang!

Just as he accelerated, Sean bumped into someone head-on.

"I'm sorry." Sean looked up while apologizing.

The person I bumped into was a young lady with beautiful curly chestnut hair, beautiful facial features, delicate makeup, and a light yellow dress. She was the kind of young beauty who could be seen in a crowd.

The girl in front of her looked at Sean, her red lips slightly parted, showing a very surprised expression.

The surprise passed away in a flash, and her expression returned to normal immediately. She grabbed Sean and walked with him.

Being close to a beautiful girl will naturally make a man happy, but Sean asked cautiously, "What is this for?"

The girl's expression seemed to be just hanging out with her boyfriend: "be natural, don't look at or talk to the people next to you, just follow me."

Sean tries to understand what's going on: "Are you in trouble?"

"No, you are in trouble."

I? Is someone following me? Sean was a little nervous and instinctively wanted to look around. The girl quickly tugged at his arm: "Be natural!"

Sean was a little annoyed: "what's going on?"

The girl still kept smiling, as if she was just chatting with Sean: "Next, please do as I say. Because..."

After listening to the second half of the sentence, Sean, who was originally a little sullen, looked at the girl's blue eyes that flashed earnestly in an instant, and was so shocked that he was speechless—

"Because on this street, only the two of us are alive."