ArchivedLogs:Bouncing Back

Bouncing Back
Dramatis Personae Hanna, Gabriel	2013-11-26 Surveying the city over a smoke break.
Location <NYC> Village Lofts - Rooftop - East Village
It tends to be windy, up here, but the presence of plastic table and folding chairs suggests that nevertheless building residents occasionally make their way out to this rooftop. With a good view of Tompkins Square Park less than a block away it's a good spot for city-watching. There's a railing around the edge, though it might be possible (if /unwise/) to climb over it to the narrow concrete ledges beyond and from there to the fire escape. Centrally, someone has broken down crates and constructed a small raised-bed garden up here, barren in winter but filled in three other seasons with a small assortment of herbs and vegetables. The concrete wall that rings the roof has been decorated, painted in vivid bright shades by some artistic hand to add colourful cheer to the rooftop. The mural shifts in terrain One wall sports a beach, flecked with grass and seashells and driftwood and shore birds. Beach transitions into meadow, colourful with wildflowers and butterflies and dragonflies; meadow shifts into snow-capped mountains, subsides into piedmont and sprouts into a verdant forest on the fourth, alive with animals. New York has seen better days, and today, the weather seems quite fitting for the grim mood still clinging to the city. The quarentine has been lifted, and people are attempting to return to what is left of normal life, but the once bustling city is just a bit too quiet. A bit too empty. Traffic far below is subdued, quiet, even for the days before Thanksgiving, there is no where near enough traffic. A chill rain falls from above, the hazy gray clouds blotting out the sunlight, swirling with the chilling wind that came in with this cold front. The roof of the Lofts has not seen as much traffic as it once did, especially not in the cold rain. For the year that Hanna has lived in the Lofts, she has rarely been seen as much around the building as she has been during all of this. As such, the Hawaiian baker is now standing up on the roof of her building, bundled up against the seasonal chill in a bubblegum wool peacoat and a pair of dark jeans. Her long dark hair is pulled back into a simple braid, capped with a fluffy white hat to keep her head warm. A lit cigarette smolders between her fingers, although she occasionally raises it to her lips to take a long pull, the tip glowing brightly. Her eyes are somewhat vacant as she stares out into the city, the irises a pale gray color like the clouds overhead. Thunk. The door leading from inside the building opens up, revealing a Gabriel behind it. The young Hispanic man is clad in a pure gray hoodie, long jeans, and a pair of boots, his head covered by the hood. In his hands lie a lighter and a pack of cigarettes, which he swiftly begins opening up, removing a cigarette and lighting it. He walks up near Hanna, taking a drag of the cigarette, before speaking. "It's depressing, isn't it? City used to be so vibrant. Now it's..kind of dull.". Hanna barely twitches when the door to the rooftop opens, just a tired glance over her shoulder to the young man, her breath escaping in a billowing cloud of white condensation and smoke as she nods in greeting. The once healthily plump woman has lost some of the roundness, and her steely gray eyes look exhausted as she looks between Gabriel and the skyline. She takes a long pull from her cigarette, sighing softly on the exhale, before she responds, "Yeah. Depressing is one way to put it, I suppose." There's another long pause as she looks at the empty streets, "Still have to be careful about words, though, kid. New York has bounced back before, but I don't know if this town has come back from something quite /this/ bad before." "Crap, apologies. Completely slipped my mind.". Gabriel takes a drag from his cigarette, before continuing. "But, the city survived the incident at Liberty Island, didn't it? I mean, it wasn't as bad at this, nowhere close, but..still. I think we can bounce back, but I'm an optimistic type of person.". Gabriel pauses, smiling. "I'm Gabriel, by the way.". He takes another long drag, staring at the city below. Snorting quietly and offering a wave to Gabriel, her voice quiet as she speaks, offering a brief introduction, "Hanna. And you said it again." She runs a hand through her hair, tapping the ash off the end of her cigarette into an ash tray balanced on the wall. "I'm not from around here. Optimism... has been a bit rough to come by lately. Even for me," she says with a sigh, "I have no clue if insurance is even going to cover the damage to my bakery, the lost revenue. I know this place has bounced back before, but god, this /thing/ has taken so much out of people." She shakes her head, "You and yours make it through this alright?" "Woops, maybe I subconsciously want to be a zombie.". Gabriel laughs a small bit, before his face becomes a bit grim. "You're not infected, right?". Gabriel nervously rubs his hand through his hair, before replying. "Yeah, I guess. My family's safe, but their business is also screwed a bit, they own a restaurant in Astoria. I've been holed in my apartment, luckily I already normally have a large stockpile of food so I rationed it as much as I could without dying.". Gabriel pauses, taking another drag, before continuing. "I hope your bakery pulls through, though. With things getting better, it seems like things will go back to normal.". Hanna takes another pull on her cigarette, chuckling, "Pretty horrible subconscious you got there. I'm not ill, no. Neither is my partner, thank god. But we lost at least one employee to this mess. Good kid, too." The older woman shakes her head, braid swaying, "I've got a bakery over in TriBeCa. Cleaned out most of the stuff before hand - been living on and trading bread with people, since I baked like mad when things started to go down hill." Another drag from her cigarette, "Coping mechanism. Among many, I suppose. Don't know at what point I'll be able to open Happy Cakes up again, though. Sorta need the right mindset to operate a place like that." She shrugs, grinding out her cigarette into the ash tray, "We'll deal. I've bounced back from shit before. So has this place. It'll just be... different." As she speaks, she glances back at Gabriel, offering a tired smile. "Hang in there. Hope your family makes it through alright, business and all. I'll catch you around." The baker begins to make her way to the door, empty hands now shoved in her pockets. Gabriel nods, returning the laugh with one of his own. "Yeah, sometimes I think it's out to get me. I think everyone has lost someone they knew. It's hard.". He takes another drag, listening and replying. "Happy Cakes, yeah, I've been there before, nice place you got. My parents just own a traditional little place, probably much different than running a bakery.". Gabriel stares over the city, taking another drag. "Yeah, I hope they do too, thanks. See you around.". Gabriel stares over the city, taking one last drag, as he looks down.