My eyes were opened to a delightful spectacle: the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, the rays of the sun playing on the crests of the waves, reflecting and creating a rainbow on the droplets of the salty spray. Admiring this mesmerizing scene, I did not even notice how time flew by, and now our turbojet was already landing at New York airport. The airlocks opened and here I was already descending the gangway under the blazing rays of the American sun. I inhaled that air, the air of free America. The flight from Moscow to New York took a whole hour, and I was already burning with impatience to peek into this new world, full of discoveries and impressions.
Even in childhood my mother liked to tell me about her own journey to America. It was back in 2010. I laughed for a long time when she told me how much trouble it was for her to enroll in the IEC program, how much paperwork there was and how difficult it all was. But now it was already 2029 and a lot had changed since then. When in April my friend shouted into the phone to me with wild excitement: «I'm going to Americauu!!!!!!!», my last doubts vanished and I blurted out: «Me too!!!!». Our joy knew no bounds, we chatted for several hours, discussed everything, planned, dreamed. And now it was time to apply. I went to the IEC website, having talked online with the director, paid for the program with Webcard and began the visa application. For this all you have to do is enter the US Department database, scan with the monitor my data identifier embedded in my wrist. Then the online monitor turned on and the consul asked me:
-«How are you?»
-«I’m fine! Thank you», I answered joyfully,
-«Welcome to USA!».
On that all the paperwork ended. It seemed as if it had been so long ago! And here I already stand on American soil, squinting from the bright sun.
I walked through New York, this magnificent city, and never tired of admiring it! These skyscrapers reaching upward, this unimaginable movement of a huge number of people – all of it is breathtaking and mesmerizing. I decided to pop into a café, drink a morning hot coffee and at the same time watch from the window this boundless ocean of people, running somewhere, immersed in their thoughts. This sight so absorbs me that it is impossible to tear my eyes away from the window... and I myself want to run somewhere with them... in unison...
A waiter distracted me from contemplating the scene. He was a representative of the Dera-Americans. Previously I had only heard about them, and now I was observing him in person. From history I remember that in 2020 we concluded a friendly agreement with the aliens from the planet Dera for worker exchange, and now the USA had become the first country where the aliens stood on an equal footing with ordinary citizens. They were the best cooks in the Galaxy, the fame of their culinary art spread across the entire planet, and everyone dreamed of tasting their delicacies. The waiter’s astonishing appearance struck me: in one hand he held a towel, in the other a menu, and his third hand, as is proper, he kept behind his back. His skin was a beautiful olive shade, his eyes had an extraordinary depth, all three eyes were bright blue, like the azure sky, which suited him exceptionally well. Without taking my admiring gaze off him, I placed my order and unfolded a map of New York. It was an interactive world map; my friend had given it to me for my birthday; here you could select a city with one touch, then, zooming in, a street, a house and view it all in 3D. Looking at New York, I found Chinatown, and Brooklyn and even Dera-avenue, where exclusively Dera-Americans lived; in everyday speech they are simply called «deras», but it is incorrect to call them that to their face.
And here is my order: black coffee with a crispy croissant. Having had breakfast, I went out into the street: before me was a new world, and I hurried to plunge into it...