"To be victorious you must find glory in the little things." - Janelle Monáe, Victory
Zermude is city of giant mirrors. Reflecting without judgement the mood of its inhabitants and its visitors. It reminds me of every city that I've ever been to - Kingston, Bridgetown, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, San Diego, Boston - because it is always up to me what my experience will be wherever I wander. In the same way that every reader brings his own perspective to a reading, so too does every traveller haul his or her experience to Zermude.
In New York the default facial expression is a frown, and so I often like to break the monotony and create a spark by flashing unsuspecting New Yorkers... with a smile. Amazingly, sometimes they smile back, and if they don't, I'm always amused at how seriously they take themselves on their serious little commutes. Frankly, I don't spend much time being despondent! I'm only sure of one life and I intend to smile my way through it.
On the other hand, it would be unfair to discount everyone's respective experiences. The pleasant must be weighed equally with the unpleasant. When you live in a big city, you never know what another person is enduring. We know how easy it is to fall victim to the routine like a hamster on a wheel 'following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before'.
In Zermude, most people ultimately succumb to the drudgery around them. They give in to their stress and worry, but it's not impossible to overcome these real issues with a positive outlook according to Marco Polo's account. As for me, I search for solace in the mundane. I find that which is sacred and profound among the lost and found, because it's up to me.
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