"It may have been the way they all looked around when they stumbled, to see if anyone saw. Or the way all of their heads turned to their reflections, to see what they all saw of one another. Or even the way they all stared out the windows of restaurants & cafes, to watch all others – and it was rarely without judgment. They – these habits, characteristics, traits – all signified exactly what this city did to them all. what it left them with. That entrenched sense of what was missing. They tried to talk it up – or off – like it was self improvement. Insecurity at its finest"
