Slipping a small book and a towel into her bag, Cin headed out towards the Atlantic Ocean. There was a small spot where she could sit alone with her thoughts and watch the water. Today, the streets were quieter as she slipped farther away from the city's core. Always an outcast, Cin was drawn to places along the edges or farther off. Her soul craved a quiet kind of peace where no one and nothing demanded her attention. Drug deals and post offices would have to wait for another day.

Stepping close to the edge of the water, Cin took out the towel and laid it out. The towel was inches from the water, and she removed her shoes so she could let her feet rest in it. Leaving the book in the bag for now, Cin lay back and used the bag as a pillow. As she looked up, she could see the clouds moving across the sky. A small smile crossed her face as she made out a little city of clouds.

She envisioned the little group of clouds as her own city, a place built from the thoughts, memories, and rooms in her mind. It was a maze of hallways connecting each one, just as little roads connect homes. The largest building would be her own: a castle in her own little city. Cin City. It had a nice ring to it, she thought to herself.

"Could you imagine?" she asked aloud to the sky. The sun seemed to try to come out from behind a cloud, and to her, it was an answer from whoever was up above. Would there be a cathedral in the city trapped in her mind? A mosque? A small village church? She doubted it, as this was her place of prayer.

The sky took her confessions along with her dreams, hopes, and even her nightmares. She whispered all the memories into the ether—those of her mother, her loves, her hates. They all flowed into the universe, releasing her from their burdens. When it came to confessing her sins, though, she could only smile up at the sky.

The smile held so many secrets. The shadows in the dead of night guarded her secrets well. Those were tales for another time.

So there I am, strolling down the boardwalk in my best pair of two-toned shoes, maybe looking for a hot dog stand, maybe just minding my business. Then what do I see? Cin, stretched out on a towel by the Atlantic like she’s auditioning for a shampoo commercial that never got approved by the censors. Shoes off, feet in the water, whispering her sins to the clouds like the devil himself was taking notes.

I stood there, lit a Lucky Strike, and thought...

“What is this, the mob or a goddamn poetry club?”

Meanwhile, I’m getting dive-bombed by seagulls the size of minivans, and she’s out here solving her trauma with a beach towel.

"I gotta hand it to you, Cin City really do sounds nice. But a cathedral? a mosque? a place to pray? Forget about it. Holiness won’t last five minutes we’ll have slot machines in the cathedral, bookies in the confessionals, and a cannoli stand on every corner before you finish your rosary.

Before you know it TonyTheTailor will be opening his lingerie shop near the churches. Lace, silk, the whole nine yards. Don’t ask him why, but he swears and wears it saying that it’s “for the community.” 

So yeah, Cin, your castle in the sky is beautiful. But me? I gotta walk away now before I get too emotional remembering the double-patty burgers I sacrificed just to stand here listening to you whisper to clouds.