The seemingly ill-lit streets illuminate the pebbled highway. The soles of my feet crunching the asphalt as I make my way along the pavement, grazing my hand on the railing overlooking the water. Midnight walks were more peaceful when the only companions around me were the crickets and the moths, silently humming and buzzing above me.

I knew this wasn't the end of my journey in the beautiful country of California but I really did hope it would mark the start. Searching for fame and glory at the epicenter of models, singers and actresses had felt like a good idea, until a pandemic washed over us and the last strobe of light I could grab onto was the one I was standing under. Reality was a very cruel host to me, my head which had been filled with ideas and plans was coming crashing down right in front of me.

The path to success would not be a straight one. My parents had warned me, and having my head 'wrapped up in the clouds, waiting on a vision' would not help either. Then again, a pandemic was not exactly what anyone had in mind when we thought of 'obstacles' even though it was not an excuse to stop my hustle.

The silence was getting louder and the night was getting darker, if that was even possible. I looked down at my watch which read 11:11, the wishing hour.

Hope this thing ends and I can start auditioning again' is what was running through my head. I clasped the straps harder and shut my eyes closed tight. I envisioned a fiery ball of flames soaring through the sky as I looked up to it. 

The idea popped into my head so suddenly it caught me off-guard.

'Teenage Fever' 

Completely unexpected and out of the blue, I stepped back , the background tune forming a loop in my head. 

My feet slowly started tapping to the beat and before I knew it I was on the first subway back home, ready to sample it on my keyboard.

The sky changed colours as I was hunched over my keyboard, trying to sample the beats and find the right tune. What started off as a midnight idea carried on till the dawn of the next day.

Spotify, Soundcloud, Youtube were all common names, but receiving sufficient views? Falling upon the right ears? That was the core challenge.

Hence the video had to be twice as good as the audio, something so bespoke and other-worldly that the audience would be enthralled yet confused, but understand the emotions and euphoria behind it.

Capturing fleeting moments, may it be at dawn or in the middle of the night was something so radical and abstract that being able to portray that would be a challenge of its own.

But portraying my mind through the sheets? 

Unheard of.

Because my life wasn't one of overwhelming love or passion. It has and always will be one of greatness, one of such mass confusion and trauma that trusting one margin with it would be an atrocity, an underwhelming mess of words with not enough emotion.

Hence I will let my soul speak for itself, the rhythm match my veins and my mouth be nothing but an actor.

The audience rose up from their seats as I closed my auto-biography. A wave of claps and whoops filled the arena as I looked up into the lights. New York was the last leg of my tour, the open book reading being bonus to 'up' the value of the tickets.... according to my manager.

I smiled and threw up my peace sign before security escorted me out into the rain, umbrellas spreading open as I hastily crossed the crowded Manhattan street filled with an adoring crowd of fans. 

2025, the high of year the vaccine had already been introduced and the world celebrated of newfound freedom had still not come down. If this city was known for being 'sleepless' before it was now in a permanent state of insomnia. 

Stepping inside my Royce, I relaxed against the seat, the chauffeur expectantly leaning over, awaiting my instructions.

Atlantic Boulevard.

The tyres squealed as the masses of faces reduced to nothing but a colourful dot, the night fading from one of vibrancy to silence once again.

As my car approached the once familiar street, I signaled the car to stop as I stepped out. 

Because this is where my story had started, under this dim streetlight and cobbled pavement.

My phone had not stopped ringing once since I had just sped past my security and manager's cars. 

I signed and moved closer to the railing. 

As all things start at a certain point, they must finish," I whispered, to catch the once familiar shooting star glide across the sky.

A smirk stole its way across my face as I exhaled, I had made it. But at a cost.