Sebastian The Traveler
Chapter 1 - Sebastian

A day in the life of me is quite boring, if I'm being honest. Mostly, I sit and watch people.

People fascinate me.

I like to listen in on their conversations and make up stories about their lives--even go as far as to guess their emotions. Sometimes, just sometimes, I smile at them as they pass by me. I'm not certain as to why I do that though, I know they never notice me. They cant see me. But, it seems like the polite thing to do so, I do it.

Human beings are strange, wild and untameable. You can force them to be a cog in the machine, doing what they need to in order to survive--going through the daily grind of a monotonous life. Their robotic movements through time, day in and day out, sheep moving amongst sheep... but you cannot break the soul. Deep, underneath all that skin, bone and blood is a light that cant be extinguished. They laugh, they cry, they scream, they smile, they love. They endure. The human spirit is resilient and beautiful.

So I watch.

That's what I do.

Yesterday, it was Central Park. The day before that it was the Golden Gate Bridge and before that, a mall in Houston, the Washington Monument, a beach in South Carolina as I am not stuck in one place like most of my kind. I walk among people--in stores, restaurants, houses. But it's more than just that. I feel like I'm a part of their lives. Like maybe, for just a second, they know my prescence. For that glorious moment, someone noticed me. I mean... they dont, not really, and I'm fine with that. But sometimes it just feels that way. Less lonely. Less isolated.

So I watch.

That's what I do.

It's always been that way and honestly, its all I remember of my life. There was nothing before that. I've tried to figure out why me, what happened, how did I become this? Was I ever anything else before THIS? And I tried for a long time but ultimately, the only thing I know is my name: Sebastian. My kind refers to me as a Traveler. I can go anywhere and everywhere with just a thought.

Occassionally, I have run across people who seem more keen to my presence. They cant specifically identify it, but they feel someone is there. I usually avoid those kind of people as I have noticed I make them uncomfortable, which is not my intent. So I move on--different places, different faces, different souls.

Always watching.

That's what I do.

Today, I chose the subway in New York. The hustle and the bustle of the city life was always exciting to me-- heartbreaking, but still exciting. How thrilling it must be to be surrounded by so many different faces and personalities. I hear them laugh and love and I hear them cry and fight--a whirl wind of different emotions in a world that I could never fully be part of. What would I be if I wasnt this? Where would I be? Who knows. Traveling gave me the ability to pretend, for even the most minuscule second of time, that I was one of them. I could laugh and love and cry and scream just like them. And just like them, be seen.

So today, I chose the subway.

And today, I met her.