Riding Outside

And so the last week went. Dithers wandered over to the Chinese Restaurant and Bar a few more times. One or two nights he just downloaded some scenery into his head and watched the simulated clouds roll by. But on the last day before he could plug back into World of Realcraft Dithers decided he wanted to try one last real thing. It was a Sunday and Dithers did not have to work. He packed a protein bar and a bottle of water and took a train outside of the city. It was the first time he’d left the city in years, since he was a kid, since he could remember. He didn’t have any destination in mind, he just watched the tracks go by. He almost found himself surprised to see houses and trees. People walking their dogs and waving to one another. The train stopped at a town called ‘Riverside’ and Dithers wandered off the train. There were a lot more cars here and the air was humid. It was summer but Dithers spent so much time indoors and in-simutronics that he’d almost forgotten what it was like to sweat. To feel hot and sticky. He sat in a park, ate his protein bar, and drank his bottled water. On some levels Dithers wished that he knew more people in the area, so that they would come up to him and say hello. It was a nice place, maybe not the high mountains of Goblin Town, but there was an appeal all its own there. It looked like an alright game to Dithers. He boarded the train and rode back to the city, oddly content.