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By midnight, Sascha's nerves were nearly shot. A pile of cigarette butts
smoldered beside her on the bed, but the brandy kept her warm and strong. Caffeine pills generated focus, but reliance
on so many drugs for mental clarity hurt Sascha's pride. I've got to do this became Sascha's mantra, and she meditated
fiercely. At two, she took her supplies and left.
At the edge of town, a large billboard straddles the freeway. Welcoming visitors to the city, it has seen a thousand
dreams and horrors, and stoically withstood all. The city spent thousands of dollars to keep the sign in good condition,
despite the vandals. The first lie becomes the first truth, Sascha stared. With her supplies tucked safely into
the large gym bag slung across her back, the coveralled Sascha had only her large portfolio case to occupy her
hands as she started up the steel rungs to the sign.
Near the top, a passing siren made Sascha start. She watched, terrified, as the portfolio fell to the pavement,
scattering its contents. Sascha flung her gym bag onto the catwalk before the sign and rushed to gather her eyesores.
Luckily, nothing was damaged in the fall, and Sascha, now laughing at the whole affair, climbed onto the ladder.
The first drop cloth draped the sign. It was unusual for night-workmen to go to that much effort to hide their
work, but the city prided itself on its excellent pro-growth PR work, so eccentricities were overlooked. Sascha
pasted her signs furiously. She knew where each piece of the collage fit without having to look at the picture
itself. The work moved smoothly, and soon the masterpiece was complete. This should make them pause, Sascha hoped.
She tied the rope to the corner of the drop cloth and descended.
Back to earth, Sascha thought about jail. It was inevitable that she'd get caught, but her zeal accepted any sacrifice.
She removed the cloth, unveiling the splendor of her masterpiece. In bright letters, visitors were still welcomed
to the city, but the sign no longer bore silent witness to a thousand horrors and dreams. A collage of all the
photos Sascha had taken of the splendor and squalor of the city blended together in the outline of a graveyard
below the city's name. Sascha named her work: Cityscape. |
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The End
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