Oli London Before And After Novels & Stories

I haven’t even touched my suitcase yet and already my nerves are buzzing like I’m about to be interviewed for a position I didn’t apply for. I opt for sleek casual. Black jeans, a cropped cashmere sweater, and heeled boots that say yes-I-own-my-choices. Minimal makeup, light perfume. I don’t know what I’m trying to prove. Maybe just that I can play this part too. That I can look like someone worthy of being whisked away to London on a whim. London is completely different from New York. The buildings have seen some shit over the past few centuries, and nobody's looking at me like I might be plotting something. It's weirdly refreshing.

And just before he hung up he said simply, "Good luck Sheila." I'd thought about those three words the entire flight over. The cab ride took nearly an hour. I watched London go past the window. It was nothing like Vegas. Where Vegas was wide and loud and spread out under a bright sky, London was dense, layered and old in a way that sat inside the buildings blocks themselves. Every street looked like it had stories it wanted to share. I liked it despite myself. We pulled up to a residential street in East London. Neat buildings. Small front steps. Frosty windows doing their best in January.

It had been exactly two months since I first set foot on London soil, and I could say with absolute certainty that the city had surprised me in every possible way. London was a fascinating mix of history and modern life, where medieval castles stood beside sleek skyscrapers, and where it was perfectly normal to have afternoon tea while discussing digital marketing strategies.

My first day in London was cold enough to be forgotten. The weather was horrible, and my legs were shaking like a pair of noodles. Things in London are so different from my hometown. Everyone is from top to bottom and no one stays still, while there are so many lights around the city, that sometimes I am blinded by them. Before this change in my life, I lived in a town called Bunbury, a town where nothing at all ever happens. So I was very lucky to be sent to cold London.