I ❤ NY
The room smelled of leftover daily pizza. It was still dark when Aydar shoved his papers to the side and stretched, trying to ignore the familiar discomfort that came with falling asleep on the old couch. He sighed, got up, and rolled up the blinds. The soft autumnal light illuminated his crowded apartment. It seemed as though the bookshelves lining his walls were pushing in every direction. On the bookshelves sat hundreds of books ranging from psychology textbooks to ancient ballads. Despite the ample shelving, numerous file folders, papers, books, and unpacked boxes covered every other possible surface. Aydar glanced at the boxes, which remained unopened: a reminder of his displacement. The apartment had looked like this since Aydar’s arrival; however, the mess was becoming unreasonable. Aydar grabbed his keys and began slicing through the masking tape firmly holding the boxes together. It appeared that he would be spending his first break of the year cleaning. Slowly, the boxes we...