The City of Dreams and Love

It was a quiet afternoon in Ultimo Coffee in Philadelphia. A young man is working there as a cashier. Business is slow and he is talking to his co-worker while they’re waiting for customers.“Conrad, I heard you’re summer job is ending soon.” Said the barista.“Now that you mention it, Duke, it is.” Replied Conrad.“Don’t tell me you’d forgotten about college?” Duke questioned.“No, I didn’t,” Conrad answered. “It’s just that I still haven’t received any acceptance letters from any of my applications.”While they’re talking, the manager suddenly cuts in their conversation and tells them to go back to work. The two of them were startled by the manager and goes back to work. As Conrad was about to clean the counters, the manager tells him to go with him to his office to talk about something important.Conrad follows his manager into the

Conrad wakes up to the sound of his alarm on his phone. Turning off his alarm, he gets up, fixes his bed, and prepares for his last day of work at Ultimo Coffee.He was about to go out of his room until his Aunt Christy calls him. He answers the phone expecting that it might be news about his place in New York.“Hey, Aunt Christy.” Conrad greeted.“Conrad, I have good news for you.” She said excitedly.“What is it?” He asked excitedly.“I found a place for you.” She answered. “The place is great and it’s near at the Institute of Culinary Education.” She added. “Wait let me send you a pic of the place.”Aunt Christy sends a picture of the apartment to Conrad. By the time Conrad receives the picture, he was amazed. The walls are sky blue, it had windows, the whole apartment is fully furnished and the kitchen is equipped with everything I needed.  He then thinks

Conrad gets in his car and takes a deep breath knowing that he’ll be missing working in Ultimo Coffee. He starts the car and leaves the parking space. He drives past Ultimo Coffee, looks at his mirror, and sees Ultimo getting smaller as he drives further.A few moments later, Conrad arrives at his home and turns off the car. He sees his grandma sitting by the front door with a cup of tea in her hand. Conrad walks up to her and kisses her on the cheek.“Everything okay grandma?” Conrad asked.“Everything’s fine.” She replied. “Just breathing in some fresh air.” She added. “By the way, if you ever need a suggestion to cook for dinner, I’d suggest you cook something that your mother loves.” She suggested to Conrad.“Thanks for the suggestion grandma.” He thanked her as he hugs her. “Do you want to help in the kitchen?” He asked as he opens the doors.“No th

The next morning, Conrad woke up by the sound of his alarm. He turns off his alarm on his phone, stands up, and sighs as he sees his empty room. Sadness starts to fill him knowing that he’s not ready to leave yet. As he was about to change into his clothes for today, there was a sudden knock on the door.“Who is it?” Conrad shouted.“It’s your future stepdad,” Mike answered. “Is it okay for me to come inside?” He asked.“Yeah, you can,” Conrad replied.“Your mom wanted me to tell you that breakfast is ready,” Mike said as opens the door.“I’ll go down as soon as I finished taking a shower,” Conrad replied while he’s preparing his clothes.“Hey, why is this photo faced down?” He asked as he noticed the photo on top of the shelf.“I think it’s best if we leave that there,” Conrad said.“How is that?&

After hours of driving, Conrad finally arrives in New York. “Welcome to New York” by Taylor Swift, starts to play as he drives through Brooklyn Bridge. He drives past Times Square and was overwhelmed after seeing the place full of people. He also expected that it would be full of billboards but he still got amazed by it. A few minutes, he arrives at the address where his apartment would be. Conrad was puzzled at first since he expected something big but what he arrived at was bigger than he expected. He goes inside, bringing some of his stuff in, and sees if he can find the landlord of the apartment. Luckily, the landlord was there by the entrance. He put down the box he was bringing and introduced himself. “I’m Conrad Walter, the tenant of apartment number 217.” Conrad introduced. “Nice to meet you, sir…?” He said unsurely. “Call me Sir Hampton.” Sir Hampton said. “So, you’re the other tenant who rented apartment 217.” He added. “Other tenant?” Conra