15 English

The City   

"Once again in the city!",  Henrique was thinking while shutting the door of the apartment where he was going to live with his friend Carlos during the entire course.  The return to Santiago meant a new meeting with the streets, with the flag stones and the arcades which are so characteristic of the architecture of this city.
Carlos was already waiting at the doorway, next to the elevator.  Both of them were going to have to get used to the traffic, to the cars, to the buses... and to a life totally different from that of the town to the city.
Here, mostly in the center, everything goes more quickly.  In the suburbs there is a mixture of city and town.
They started to walk together.
"Where are we going?"
"We can take a walk if you want,"  Carlos answered. We'll go slowly, watching the people, the shops.. and, if you agree, we can go to the Town Hall Square.
"Let's go then."
The sidewalks were full of people who were going and coming.  In the background, far away, the trees in the garden reminded them of the fields that they had just left.  They had to wait at a pedestrian crossing.
"They could put up street lights once at for all!" Henrique said, throwing away the stub of a "Celtas"  cigarette into the sewer.
"Present yourself as a city councilor and make the proposal. The traffic police would  thank you for the work you would take away from them."
The two of them laughed.  When they got to the other sidewalk, they met two foreigners, tourists, who were asking how to leave the city.  They showed them with hand gestures, because they were Swedish visitors and neither of the two spoke that language.

The time passed while walking underneath the arcades, looking at the windows of the stores and bookstores, and watching the girls.  It had been, once again, the first day of city life.