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MidReal Story
Neon Secrets Beneath Our City
Scenario:I’d never noticed it before.In fact, it was so out of place that I probably would have walked right past it, if the sign hadn’t been flickering.The other half was still lit up, but it was the off-kilter, half-broken neon light that caught my eye and drew me in.
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Mark Jensen
history enthusiast, friends with Emily and Alex, medium build with curly brown hair, brave and inquisitive
Alex Torres
techsavvy friend, friends with Emily and Mark, tall with glasses, logical and resourceful
Emily Carter
curious explorer, friends with Alex and Mark, short blonde hair, adventurous and skeptical
I was the first to see it.
The neon sign, flickering in the darkness of the alleyway.
It was a half-lit sign, and I had to squint to make out the letters.
"HALF…"
I read aloud, and then I lost it.
The rest of the sign was dark, and I couldn’t make out what it said.
I turned to my friends, who were a few steps behind me.
"Did you guys see that?"
I asked.
They shook their heads, and I pointed behind me.
"Look!"
Mark squinted at the sign, but Alex didn’t even bother.
"It’s probably just an old sign," he said.
"Come on, let’s keep going."
He started walking away from me, but Mark stayed behind with me.
He was always up for an adventure, even if it was just exploring a new part of the city we’d never been to before.
"Let’s go check it out," he said to me.
I nodded and followed him back to the sign.
I couldn’t just leave it behind.
It had to say something more than just "HALF…"
As soon as I’d read it out loud, I’d been desperate to know what the rest of it said.
It was like a mystery that I couldn’t leave unsolved.
Alex and Mark had both come along on this adventure with me, but they were starting to get bored.
I could tell by the way they kept glancing back down the alleyway in the direction we’d been headed.
They were ready to keep going, but I was the one who had seen the sign first, and I was the one who was going to solve this mystery.
I was sure of it.
The sign flickered again, and I grabbed Mark’s arm to make sure he saw it when it came on.
"Look!" he said to me, but I had already seen it.
The sign wasn’t lit up fully, but I could just make out the shape of a beer bottle on one side.
Then the sign flickered again, and the bottle disappeared.
"What do you think it says?"
Mark asked me.
I shook my head.
"I’m not sure yet, but I think we’ll find out soon."
We both turned to look at Alex, who was still standing a few feet away from us with his arms crossed over his chest.
He didn’t seem impressed by the sign at all.
"I still think it’s nothing," he said.
"It’s probably just an old broken sign. Let’s go."
But I couldn’t leave yet.
I felt like there was something important here that we were missing.
I couldn’t explain it, but I felt drawn to this spot—drawn to this sign.
The other two might not have seen what I’d seen when it had lit up for a moment, but I knew there was more to it than just a flickering neon light.
I could feel it in my bones.
Then, just as Alex turned back around and started walking away from us again, the sign flickered one more time, and two new letters appeared under the beer bottle.
"HALFHEARTED," Mark said as he read them out loud.
"That’s what it says."
I nodded.
"That must be the name of the bar," I said.
"Halfhearted Bar. Or maybe Halfhearted Brewery? That would make sense with the beer bottle."
Mark grinned at me.
"I bet you’re right," he said.
"I bet there’s some old brewery down here that’s been abandoned for years. We should try to find a way inside."
"Sounds good to me," I said.
"What do you think, Alex?"
But Alex wasn’t listening.
He was staring at the sign again, his eyes wide behind his glasses.
"It’s still only half-lit," he said.
"Look."
He was right.
The rest of the sign was still dark, even though more letters had appeared under the beer bottle.
"I bet someone’s playing a trick on us," Alex said.