Cyber Overwinter [Part 3]

With that statement, Izel looked directly at Nevaeh as her gaze was fixed on the entirety of Nuevo Eztli. As if the night sky was one fire, to realize that this fire is her brightly colored forest she must navigate every day.

“The air feels so pure up here.” Izel mentioned.

“Yeah, turns out, the further away you are from the city the better.” Nevaeh remarked with some cynicism, approaching the edge of the roof to sit.

“This has to have been one of the first buildings constructed, I know that when Nuevo Eztli was expanding they moved more east, so it makes sense that an old building like this would be on the western outskirts of the city.” Izel informed.

“You’re pretty close, this was one of the first companies that wanted to invest in Nuevo Eztli, but went bankrupt in the 80s.” Nevaeh mentioned, to then gesture for Izel to sit by her.

“Yeah, I think I read about that. I don’t remember the name of the company, but they were a pharmaceutical company that rushed a lot of drugs that involved Genetic Engineering.” Izel explained as he slowly sat by Nevaeh. “However, they made a bad batch of medicine that severely damaged cerebral pathways that made everyone sue which caused all of their other piss poor practices to come to light, and led to their downfall.” He explained.

“Pretty wild that it didn’t end the city’s reputation.” Nevaeh added.

“I agree, I think that has to do with the fact that other companies that had their hands in Genetic Engineering but the nations they were based in hadn’t approved of any human trials yet they found Nuevo Eztli. Which makes sense because we were in a constant state of diplomatic limbo basically since its inception, still without official incorporation to a nation.” Izel hypothesized. “So these companies could do whatever they want as long as they promoted the city. Which definitely had its pros and cons.” He sighed at the current reality of the city’s fate.

“Sorry, I’m yapping, heh.” Izel quickly announced.

“Hehe, it's fine, you're yapping… Is kinda insightful.” Nevaeh paused to find the right words for Izel. “You see that thin dark blue speck? That’s the ocean.” She then pointed.

“Huh, look at that.” Izel said. “So we must be about 80 to 100 meters away from the shoreline.” He guessed.

“Um, yeah actually. Do you know exactly where we are?” Nevaeh asked, somewhat surprised.

“Oh, um, no, I uh, just ran the numbers in my head… So the horizon is only visible to the naked eye at certain points of elevation, normally, we’d only be able to see the horizon 5 km away, assuming we’re at sea level. But I’m guessing we’re about 150-170 meters high up so then the horizon’s visibility changes to about 80 to 100 meters away, heh.” Izel grinned at the end of his explanation.

“Is there anything you don’t know?” Nevaeh wondered.

“Umm… I uh, don’t know a whole lot about you.” Izel tried his best to spark the response.

“Smooth.” Nevaeh smirked. “I walked right into that one… What do you want to know?” She then asked.

“So… You know my whole family, basically, but I only know of your mom… You mind if I ask about your father, siblings, or any family?” Izel asked.

“There’s not much to say sadly.” Nevaeh began with a low tone. “My grandparents on my mother’s side looked after me until I was 15, and been living on my own ever since. I’ll see them every once and awhile, but they had my mom in their thirties, and my mom had me when she was 42, so they're pretty old now… Forgetting little things and stuff. So it’s kinda hard to see them sometimes.” She opened.

“They still remember you, right?” Izel gently asked.

“Yeah, they remember me… It's just everything else, names, dates, locations, daily things that are going on.” Nevaeh sighed. “But as soon as I walk in, they’ll shout my name. ‘Bebé cielo!’, or ‘Nevaeh baby.’ Like it's the first time they’ve seen the sun.” She smiled lightly.

“Are they near you?” Izel then asked.

“No, there in, you know, the ‘dead city district’, where all old people slowly die, just for the companies that own the buildings to keep them alive as long as possible so they can squeeze every penny they have or get from whoever supports them.” Nevaeh seethed at the wrongful behavior. “And I certainly don’t have any money to get them in a safer place.” She sighed once more.

Izel took a moment to analyze Nevaeh, slowly understanding the struggles she has to face in her day to day life. Along with the sharp contrast of his own, focusing on the differences as all he ever has to worry about is getting to his prestigious school and finishing wherever assignments are due. Izel couldn’t help dwelled on that noticeable difference. Which caused him to remain silent for several moments as the evening breeze gently brushed their hair with every cyberized gust.

“The view is pretty amazing up here, not being bombarded by flashing lights every waking second. Just natural emptiness.” Izel spoke, commenting on the vastness that lies between the city and the ocean.

“It looks so lonesome out there… Makes me think how lonely it can be pretty much anywhere, no matter how many people are around you.” Nevaeh remarked, hugging her legs, glaring at the distant night land.

“No friends, no money, no real experience, I feel like a lot of people in our generation are going through that.” Izel announced with a joking tone.

“Heha, yeah, and we live in a world that wants to constantly remind us how lonely we really are.” Nevaeh giggled slightly.

“It sure feels that way… What about the Team? I mean, that’s something, like my dad and I have each other and that’s always been pretty good. Not a lot. But good enough.” Izel explained.

“I see what you mean, but that’s more like a job with work friend relationships, I mean don’t get me wrong, I care for everyone there but… It's more like I don’t know how to be happy—Tch!” Nevaeh revealed for her to suddenly click her tongue with self annoyance. “Sorry, you don’t want to hear my own yapping, I must be tired.” She then explained, dismissively, as if she revealed something about herself that’s only meant for her.

“No, no, it's fine… I um, like hearing you talk.” Izel quickly spoke words of reassurance.

“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?” Nevaeh smiled.

Izel looked in the opposite direction of Nevaeh, trying to hide his warming face. Struggling to get about a logical response as if he were choking on his own words. “I just like your voice, is all.” He plainly spoke.

Nevaeh glances at her lightly tapping feet, somewhat hiding her own smile. Allowing the innocence of their interactions to fill the night air. “Thanks, knowing that makes me a little tiny bit happy.” She slowly said.