One afternoon not long ago,
I was walking down the street going from Engleska Parken (humanities campus) to the main library and as I walked people appeared on the side of my path and kept shouting at me trying to hand me flyers, loads where chucked on the ground and similar posters littered the surroundings. Another person went along with a loud radio, 2 guys were walking up and down with a massive sign. This had never happened before! Loads of people were shouting, I could not understand what they were saying, but honestly neither was I interested…
The day was grey, it would not stop raining, a bus driver carelessly sped through a puddle and drenched me in muddy water.
As a consequence my light-coloured trousers were stained, but nobody took much notice, I think… There was a girl with a smartphone in her hands, that might have been taking a picture of me. What if she did?! No doubt I would most liked post on ‘Spotted’..
Once I got to the PC cluster I immediately had to check the all-telling page. Nothing there, possibly a comment could apply to me, but no way to be certain; at least there were no photos!
So many people surrounded me, a feeling of self-conscious paranoia prevailed, as if everyone was judging each other.
I decided I could take it no more and decided to leave.
Outside there was a starless sky, the cold darkness and dampness surrounded me together with a sense of unease and fear, as if something bad was bound to happen.
The people I saw earlier had disappeared instead they had been replaced by others: some were puking; people were pissing on the street;rude, aggressive gorillas were arrogantly perched outside the over-rated club doors like giant gargoyles…
You get the picture?
Soon after, a group of blokes in hoodies with glass bottles in their hands congregated.
They glared at me, why?
I did not know…
They started to edge closer and closer, I felt powerless, so I started running, panic stricken I ran and ran but couldn’t keep going…
They started punching and kicking me;
What did they want from me?
I gave them my phone, my wallet, my bank cards, the pin codes and even my jacket but still they didn’t stop…
What more could they want?
I gave them all I had but they kept punching and kicking me, angrily, as if I had something they could not have.
The final blow was strong, I lost my balance and whilst I fell I realised that what I had was ‘hope’, a ray of light that maybe one day I might succeed in building myself a bright future, as I want it, something they all didn’t have and by hurting me and depriving me of my belongings maybe they wanted me to be the same as them…
My heart was beating fast, I kept on falling for a surprisingly long time, I wondered when I would reach the ground, then with an odd sense of relief I hit the pavement.
Press Play on The YouTube Video for musical background.
I jolted up and as I opened my eyes, a ray of sun-light blinded me. I saw the familiar east-facing window with the half-open blinds, I realised…
It was all just a dream Alex, nothing but a nightmare. You are still in Uppsala, it is nowhere near and nothing like the gorgeous city in which you normally live and study.
This fictional dream is dedicated to the ‘Manchester Study Abroad Team’ that are doing an AMAZING job in encouraging students to take the opportunity to go on exchange somewhere in the world, far far away from the charming city I know and love.