Here is the next part of Pittown.
Before anyone can improve their life, they must get the idea that change is possible, that life can be different and better, and that it is worth the effort it takes to make it happen.
Chapter 8: Different and Better
Although there were nicer shops a suburb or two closer to the city, Merlyn made a point of shopping at the Pittown ones. It seemed to her disloyal not to use them. Besides, she found the people interesting. Not infrequently, someone walked past her and turned their head to give her a second look. They looked like they thought they knew her but then decided that they didn’t. Sometimes, they looked at her quizzically as if they were thinking that she didn’t belong in Pittown.
Merlyn had grown up in a similar suburb to Pittown although much water had flowed under the bridge since then. She knew what life felt like in a place like this. The thing that most struck Merlyn about the average Pittown resident was the dulled look of acceptance that sat in their eyes. It wasn’t the acceptance of a peaceful mind. It was the acceptance that shouldn’t be accepting; the acceptance when fire is needed. Fire to educate oneself, to create a better life, to move and not come back, to do something. Before anyone can improve their life, thought Merlyn as she walked along the main shopping strip, they must get the idea that change is possible, that life can be different and better, and that it is worth the effort it takes to make it happen. She picked up some rubbish which had blown in front of her and put it in the bin. Since moving to Pittown, Merlyn was forever picking up rubbish. Continue reading “Pittown: Moving On”
