I decided to leave this as a sequel to Life Lines, since it’s a new city. Hope I haven’t stepped on anyone’s toes. ^^;

i dont know about toes ms. Cahill but the prophet Ishvala says that weeds were envisioned by the creator to bloom once stepped on. So step with reckless abandon, i think jester can handle it.

I like the fact that you gave our doughty protagonist some basic skills that others can use later on. I taught him to sing, you’ve taught him how to see the future. Now we need someone to teach him to be a con man, and we’ll have Harold Hill, the Music Man!

Oh, by the way, are you related to Tim Cahill, the travel writer?

Thanks MJY, I like to think so too. :)

John, perhaps only in that distant way that all Irish are. ;D

Ah, the journey. At least this guy found some happiness … it seems to be a rare commodity in his travels.

@MJY: I think Cahill was talking of toes because of the branching sequels, one of which carried on the “plot” of the Life Lines story, a new direction for what’s been a series of loosely connected travel pieces thus far.

And of course I don’t mind any sort of sequeling, or I wouldn’t be on Ficly!

This is lovely – I wanted to dive in and give the traveller some happy encounter, although I was always concerned that the memory of it would become melancholy.

Since Jessica has done the job of a ‘happy’ installment admirably well, and toyed with the idea of travel by having a travelling city, I felt it was time to resort back to misery.

I based my title off this one as well, since it’s beautifully suitable.

I think this is my favourite part: “met newcomers and waved farewell to those who needed to move on.” The whole story seems to be subverting the idea of travel as an act of permanently leaving, which it has been in this series so often. Here, the traveler is able to greet and to see other people leave. And, of course, to be left by the city itself.

I think a “pleasure city” is still something that can be explored, since sometimes the happiness to be gained there can be plastic…which generates its own kind of misery.

This was really interesting, and different from the rest of them, seeing as you don’t know if this was all reality, or in his head, or simply magic! I congratulate you on your different-ness! :D