A world of inspiration: NYC

This week’s edition of  ’A world of inspiration‘ is a wondrous tale that reads like a novella. Written by Jennifer Laceda, this story takes place in New York and beautifully captures the rush of energy that one often experiences in big cities. Jennifer is an avid blogger and photographer who is based in Canada. Her blog My Folie à Deux is a brilliant collection of stories and photos that touch on the many aspects of travel, design, food and fashion.

NYC

I had gone to New York City to visit a cousin whom I had not seen in ages. But what I thought was a routine vacation to New York, turned out to be an affair of the heart. There, in the city that never sleeps, I met a boy. Phil.
He liked to fish on the East River beneath the Manhattan Bridge. He made friends with the strangest people and he drew dragons and swords. Phil had piercing eyes. It was a look that intrigued me, left me breathless and wondering about things he knew. But then I also recognized a sadness within him. Yet I didn’t dare ask what he’d been through. But I would wait and I would be patient. I would wait for him to tell me.

Seven days have come and gone, and each day we spent traipsing around New York-walking, shopping, eating, clubbing. Every day that passed, I got to know him; dissected every snippet of information he handed out. I was getting closer.

Then, one night – my last night – as we were about to ascend the Empire State building, he told me about an energy out there in the universe – an energy that was everything but nothing at the same time. This energy, Phil claimed, is wise.

“Are we talking about God, then?” I asked.

“Yes and no,” he replied.

Yes and no equally? Everything and nothing at the same time? I didn’t understand.

“Do you feel the energy?” he asked.

“What energy?” I was confused. Is this guy mad? Had he gone cuckoo on me? I looked out from the Empire State’s observation deck onto the Manhattan skyline. I felt the city’s energy, that’s for sure: the twinkling lights so bright; the honking cars stuck in traffic; and the gusts of wind from being so high up.

“It’s the vibration that ripples from nothing into the universe, to the world, to each man, and to each atom or molecule within us,” he said.

Ah, I had heard this line before. It’s from a movie – the same kind of line that you hooked someone with if you wanted a kiss. Suddenly, I felt a scintilla of electricity between us. Very strange.

As if he had fun mocking me, he turned my way and said, “That one. Did you feel that one?”

“What?” I pretended not to know so that he could explain it to me further.

“I know that you know IT” said Phil, as he sauntered away from the deck.

I was confused, but I was intrigued. How did he know that I felt IT? What kind of New Yorker gag was this guy up to?

“C’mon, Jen!” he motioned for me to follow him away from the observation deck.

I didn’t want to leave New York behind, but I wanted to be with him. The vision of Manhattan was heart-poundingly beautiful from up here that I didn’t want to turn around! So, I took one last glance at the living, breathing city beneath me, and I knew right then and there. I was in love.

About this week’s guest writer
Jennifer Laceda describes herself as “a full-time worker bee, part-time travel writer and blogger, frequent flier, and occasional bad mother. I like to take bad photos and scream at my husband to get away from my shots. Truth be told, I spend way too much time blogging”.

I can attest that Jennifer does NOT take bad photos! She keeps her readers enthralled with wonderful stories and stunning photos on her blog My Folie à Deux (defined as madness shared by two).

Follow Jennifer on Twitter.

Read other ‘World of inspiration‘ articles:

• Traveling the World Ten Days a Year
• An Inspiring Safari Field Guide
• A Familiar Face in a Foreign Land
• The Cellist & the Historian
• His First Flight
• The Man Behind the Miracle