Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers - Chapters 41-50

DISCLAIMER: This title contains coarse language and mature content. It is not suitable for readers 18 years of age or younger.

 

Chapter 41
A View from the Bridge

Austria - Downtown Vienna
Tuesday, September 6, 2005, 11:11 a.m.

After rolling into Vienna, Jason and Theo still had several hours before their connecting train left for Budapest. They wandered through the downtown, stopping in a small park. Red, yellow and white petals popped against the swaths of grass. In the distance, over the treetops, were four pointed towers of a white stone building. Birds chirped.

            They breathed in an invigorating tonic of crisp morning air, a most welcome respite from Italy's stifling, muggy heat. They exhaled, took another breath, then another.

            Theo was still groggy, but he started perking up at Jason's enthusiasm, something he was beginning to anticipate. Once Jason got going, there was no stopping him. Theo told him about New Zealand and its great beaches, which got Jason all riled up about New York.

            "Yeh, yeh," Theo said, wearing a blue-and-green pullover his grandmother bought him in Mexico. "I bet it's mad there."

            "You gotta visit. I'll show you the best view in the city. My dad used to take me when I was a kid." Jason flicked his eyebrows. "It's not what you think."

            Theo was getting excited, wanting to make his way to America. Like most Kiwis, he was fascinated by New York-a giant, fast-paced metropolis compared to every city in New Zealand, even Auckland, with a million residents of its own.

            No matter what New York City was actually like, forever embedded in Theo's mind were the news reports he saw as a kid, hearing about how violent New York was. How it seemed to be a ruthless gangland-the Wild West of present day America. But its metamorphosis since then compelled him to go there someday, to see if the city lived up to its legend.

            Theo guessed. "Top of the EmpireStateBuilding?"

            "Great view ... but that's not it." Jason offered a mischievous smile. "It's from the middle of the BrooklynBridge. Once you walk up there, you never see the city the same way again."     Jason pointed, giving a tour. "You've got the ManhattanBridge on one side, the Statue of Liberty on the other. It connects Manhattan and Brooklyn over the East River, which is amazing when the sun hits the water. It was better before the Towers went down ...," Jason paused. "... but it's still awesome. And if you stand in just the right spot, you can see the tip of the EmpireStateBuilding way off in the distance. The view'll just knock your socks off."

            "Oh, yeh?" Theo said. "That sounds ..."

            And for some reason, Theo found himself remembering the waters at Cathedral Cove just then, with a dolphin named Ira looking right at him.

 ***

"Once you walk around down here," Ira had said, underwater, "you never look at the ocean the same way again. You sure you don't want some shrimp? The buzz'll knock your socks off."

            "No, I'm sure," Theo said. "Where's Roger?"

            "Don't worry, mate. Howie and Roger are just having a little chat. He's fine."

            Standing on the ocean floor-not breathing air, but not not breathing either-Theo was surprisingly comfortable. "It's so warm," he said.