He got out of his house in the middle of the night, His mind filled with tensions from the city life. He's had it! Everything in his life seemed to be going in a certain pattern. Every new day brought new trouble to his mind. Every new day gave new tensions to his body. Every new day came with new worries for his thoughts. He had to get out of this routine!

He went to his garage in the pitch black of the night, slamming his backdoor shut. He didn't even care to lock it; someone was bound to rob his place at some point. It's not that he was wealthy, it just happens for no reason. Worries entered his thoughts again but he simply didn't care anymore.
He opened his garage and picked up his bicycle which had fallen over. Of course it had fallen over, the damn thing didn't have something to lean on anyway. It was a surprise it had a lock for that matter. He picked it up, unlocked it and walked with it towards the sidewalk. Heck, they could rob his entire house if they wanted to.

The lights of the city illuminated the street, making his path clearly visible. He didn't know where he would go, he just wanted out! He would just follow the lanterns to where-ever they led him.
He started cycling in the direction of the closest lantern. He knew it wouldn't lead him anywhere special but what did it matter. He lived somewhere in a quiet neighborhood somewhere near the centre of the city. The centre with its many lights and buildings. The very same lights that illuminated the sky all night long.

The street ended soon, of course, so he just went to a direction that would lead him away from the centre. The silence of the night was only disturbed by the distant sounds of cars making their way to a destination far away. Cars that would drive the entire day and night, only to drive back again shortly afterwards.

The street led him to a new intersection, only this time with signs. One of them saying 'centre' pointing right and the other giving random names of other major cities somewhere in the distance. No matter where you went, you would just end up in a similar place. He felt bound to the city life, seeing this. It didn't matter where he went. At least the left path was a longer way.

Things got a bit busier as he was closing in on the highway. No matter what time of the day or night, cars would ride the endless highway. Following only the orange lights on the highway that just seemed to strengthen the ongoing road ahead.

A car shook him out of his thoughts by honking behind him. Apparently, he had been driving in the centre of the road. He just went to the side of the street, only to have the car owner point his finger to his forehead at him, then speeding off again. It only strengthened his hatred towards the city.

He just cycled and cycled, leaving the busy centre of the city behind. He passed numerous buildings. Buildings that carried many offices for people to spend their time every day of their life. Some buildings were completely dark, indicating that people were currently resting up to work there again the next morning. Others were still lit up. Some people never got to rest. The buildings rose high above the ground, all making sure everybody knew it was there. They carried huge signs about the function of the buildings that were lit up with enormous neon-lights. All of it just seemed empty and grey.

After passing yet another sign giving only the names of different cities, he found that there was one way that didn't have any indications of where it would lead. He decided to take that route. Signs were everywhere in the urban environment. All there to confuse people with rules that nobody cared about.

Only buildings, streets and lanterns were seen around him. All of it reeked of the urban life which he wanted to get rid of. It wanted to pull him back. It wanted to tell him that there's no escape, hence the signs with other cities.

A light was flickering on and off when he passed it. Every now and then it would light up and then go down again. when it lit up, it didn't show anything special, just the same piece of road as always. These broken lights were common and you'd wonder why they're never replaced or fixed. It showed how little urban people cared about these small things.

The first tree wasn't seen until he had traveled a long distance on the same road he'd been on since the intersection. It didn't add anything to his view of the city. Come to think of it, didn't he see other trees along the way? He must have missed them as he was too occupied by the city and its many lights, buildings, cars and people. He just passed the tree without much thought.

The lanterns he now passed shone in a white color. It emitted rest; the peaceful slumber of the suburbs. The enormous buildings he was passing turned into small houses that held sleeping people in them. the distant sound of cars faded bit by bit. Still, there were signs this was part of the city everywhere. Grafitti on the walls, trash cans that had fallen over, the illuminated sky that made it difficult to see the stars above.

He didn't pass another car until he got to a new intersection. It came from the direction of the airport and was trying to get home. Traveling is what seemed to keep the city busy day and night. Even here, far away from the busy centre, people were traveling. He himself was traveling, but there was something different. The city's travels had purposes yet they didn't. his travel didn't have a purpose yet it did.

He turned away from the airport and crossed the river over the bridge. The water was calm and probably housed a few fish and ducks. They weren't visible though as the darkness made that impossible. Even the white lights weren't able to make it clear.

He followed the road which seemed to follow the river for a while. He could see patches of grass every now and then, rustling in the soft wind that was barely noticeable. Houses still dominated the area though.

The road suddenly went away from the calm river again and seemed to be heading towards a distant towering structure. Enormous factories were all around the city. As if they were the last defense to keep you in. smoke rises from these factories all day and night long. They would never rest, just like the busy centre.

After more and more trees were visible, even around the factories; they were there.

He just had to pass these factories to be free. Just a little bit.