Aallotar [Good Omens]

One - Introduction at its Finest

It was a regular British morning by British standards, or so Olly assumed. She only ever read about British weather or saw it on tv, but never before had she experienced it first hand. Droplets of rain fell onto her skin the moment she stepped out of her grandma's house. She stared at the sky in wonder and inhaled the rich purity of the earth. Days like those were the ones she loved. Days like those reminded her of home.

Moving to a new house was strange enough, but moving to a new country was entirely bizarre. Olly wasn't scared, though. She saw this as a new beginning. New scenery helps the mind, she believed. And her mind did need some helping as much as she told everyone that it didn't. I'm alright, she'd say. I'll be fine.

Who knows, she thought, maybe this'll give me some good writing motivation.

Olly hadn't written any stories since May, and she hadn't been home since then, either. "Displacement can result in lack of productivity," her therapist had said. Maybe the countless degrees he had hanging from his office walls were real, after all.

Olly's grandma lived in a tall house that was sandwiched in between more tall houses which were also squeezed in with even more tall, identical houses. If the houses weren't painted different colors, Olly would never be able to find her way back.

Though London felt more compact, the similarities of each house reminded Olly of the suburbs she used to live in back in America. The suburban neighborhoods modeled after the same building structure, that is. The suburbs that had their own judges and juries and committees that squashed out anything that didn't uphold their standards. However, London felt much friendlier. Maybe it was just the time jumps from America to the UK that messed up her head and gave her this genial impression. Either that or Olly was actually going to live somewhere where she can have a flower garden.

The rain began to fall harder. Olly zipped up her jacket and lifted the hood over her head. Next item on the shopping list: an umbrella. However, she had no idea what places sold umbrellas. Honestly, she had no idea where she was going. She was "scouting" and "getting a feel for the city," or so her grandma would say. This was Olly's first time leaving the house since arriving. Most of the week, she'd been trapped behind boxes that needed unpacking. But eventually staying indoors was driving her crazy.

Downside of living in the city: not a lot of natural light. She had one window in her room, but her room was on the top level, and she got a bit more sunlight than the other rooms did.

Upside of living in the city: there's always somewhere to go (with or without sunlight). Olly checked her pockets for the strange currency here grandma gave her.

"Maybe I should have dusted off my knowledge of the pound sterling system," she said when grandma handed her two slips of colored paper.

"This is 10 pounds," she said, pointing  to the orange tinted slip. Then she pointed to the purple one. "This is 20 pounds."

"It's like I'm in a whole other world. "

"Don't worry. Just tell the cashier that you're a tourist and could use some help. They'll help you."

Olly was sure they would, but the thought of standing there dumbly while fumbling through money with people waiting in line behind her made her nervous.

It's fine; you'll be fine.

Olly nodded and went on her way. She walked for nearly half an hour, smiling and saying hello to pedestrians as she went. She felt excitement pumping through her veins. Her family rarely ever visited big cities back in America, but now she was walking around London! London! She felt as giddy as a child. Things were looking up for Olly after a summer of frustration and confusion. This was going to be a great beginning.