EXAMPLE PAGE - EBOOK - TEA GODS - Flipbook - Seite 20
10
H. K. O'HARA
“That’s because you left South Korea before the age of logical living
swooped down and grabbed ahold of every available inch of space,”
said Binnie.
Temma leaned over the seat. “Logical living? Endless rows of fogcolored buildings are logical?”
“Well, the city planners seem to think so. In their eyes, a tiny bit of
space plus ten million people equals a lot of quickly constructed fogcolored buildings.”
K took a deep breath. Binnie looked at her. “Are you okay?”
“The air feels heavy,” she said quietly. “Do people here start to
worry as soon as they get out of bed in the morning?”
“They start to worry before they get out of bed in the morning. Are
you feeling the energy starting to slip through the cracks of the little
gray boxes?”
“Yes . . . the energy of anxiety. But I’ll be fine. I’ll just focus on
something else.”
A few minutes later they were in front of Binnie’s office. He jumped
out of the car with a quick, “I’ll be right back.”
The sidewalks were empty, so K and Temma got out of the car to
stretch their legs while they waited for him. Spotting a fountain in the
small park on the other side of the street, K pointed to it. “Temma,” she
said, “there’s a fountain over there and I would give just about anything
to put my hands in the water. What do you think?”
Temma squinted her eyes . . . Except for one man running in a
hooded sweatshirt, there weren’t any people in the park. “I guess it will
be okay,” she said, reaching into the car for her bag.
Overjoyed at the thought of dipping her hands into moving water, K
stepped into the street . . . Almost to the other side, she was suddenly
overcome by a rush of chaotic energy. She turned around to go back,
but hundreds of people were coming toward her. Unable to breathe, she
put her hand to her throat, gasping for air.
Stunned by how quickly the street, the sidewalks and the park had
filled up with people, Temma grabbed her phone and called Binnie. All
she could manage to say was, “K—the park. Oh God.”
