We were driving on Interstate 15 towards south west. It was 10 pm and from a faraway point we could feel the warmth of light that shimmered in the sky, setting a sign of curiosity, attempting convincingly to enter the boundaries of a place unknown.
As we
were charging on the roads of America, we were about to enter a city that we
thought would be mesmerizing enough to hold us in its awe for some time. We
were to enter a place that would give us the sincerest experience of all time.
But...
after reaching this city, one could only feel a dis-relation, where you could
only survive if you knew the norms of it, where infinite permutations raced
around of dos and don'ts, where every second would make you feel regretful of
that decision of coming to this place. Obviously, it was only me who was having
these fits of rage. Maybe, only because I was so unaware of this place, it made me feel
displaced.
As we
proceeded further, we could witness the same shimmering light reflecting from the glass of the windows of the tall enough buildings scattered all around. Till now
we were pretty much satisfied by the overwhelmed welcome of this place.
Well! who wouldn't, we had traveled almost hundreds of miles from Las
Vegas in the late hours of the day with no stay over in between, in
search of this piece of land in the state of California.
However,
the route we were heading on was ripping us apart from our connection
with the city lights. It seemed as we were going to a different area now. We were following the 'global positioning system', which showed our
journey did not end at this exhibition of lights. Our location appeared to show
us crossing the downtown area of the famous city named 'Los Angeles'.
So where
were we going? My heart kept sinking, my brain was unable to think due to
exhaustion... and this was making me worry because we still had a journey of
almost half an hour and we had crossed the great city. Its skyline was blurring out and the road started to get over crowded with cars of all
shapes and sizes, honing at each other. The drivers seemed to be very
impatient, the middle finger being the figure of expression for that whole
journey.
... and we disengaged from LA.
Now, this suburb we entered was a mystery in itself and it remains unsolved till date... for me at least. My consciousness was hit with a surge of anxiety as we were heading towards our hotel... to be continued.
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"the disengagement" ~ art work (LA01) by Sameer Aftab
(Prints for sale - order now)
I thought that my words would not do justice to describe the place so I started drawing my experience of it, an art work that would exist in my memory forever. Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words, they say. Although an unfinished work, but it forms the bench mark for starting of my travel story. Some places that we drove through, some hotels that we had to stay in, some eateries where we had to buy food from, and who can forget the motel where we stayed for a night.
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