words: 379
pairing: N/A
The question had been posed to him before, born not from malice but from confusion.
How was it that he seemed so happy in the Neath? He’s a man from another time, forced to leave all he’d ever known behind, with only the promise of a world shoved into darkness awaiting him.
A fair assessment of the situation, all things considered. It was because of the current state of the Neath and it’s inhabitants that he didn’t bother concealing the truth. Everyone was well equipped to deal with misery, these days.
So he’d sketch in some of the details for them. About how he wasn’t happy in his old life, living in a home that was sometimes worse than the streets. About the aching, gnawing feeling in his chest that told him he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. About the fear, all encompassing and impossible to see past, that overtook him sometimes and wouldn’t let go.
Only a privileged few got the full details, of course. Even if the average Londinian would be fine hearing his story, he didn’t want them to have the image of him as someone who was much too willing to shove his life story upon the unsuspecting. He figured most people probably thought he was crazy anyway for a plethora of other reasons, no need adding more on top.
Even still, despite the weight that was no longer on his shoulders, despite the new hope he had for his life….there were some things he missed. Things he scarcely admitted, not wanting to complain to people already in such dire straits.
Though, to the residents of Chapman’s, to Harjit, he would occasionally mention them, if asked.
He missed his dogs. He missed watching movies. He missed his comfort foods, his comfort objects, his online friends. Some things were harder to explain than others, but they always got the gist of it in the end.
The pros outweighed the cons, he would say if they gave him their condolences. It felt like the universe was telling him he had to make those sacrifices to be here, and if so, well, he’d gladly accept that.
The Neath was a gift to him, even if it could never be that for the rest of London.