A hundred of transit lights and buildings that touched the sky indicated they were already there, in the City of Glass*. In fact, almost all buildings had glasses covering the outsides, and although the sun was hidden by clouds, Helen saw how much they shone. She imagined that city in summer and winter and the more she pictured the streets and corners at different shades of light more it all looked unreal. It was absurd the number of cars making noise on the streets and waiting for the light to become green and running all at the same time when it did. And no ordinary cars but BMW's, Ferraris and other brands she didn't know the name but would recognize them as fancy anywhere in the world.

Octavian had left his car at the parking lot in Coquitlam so they could experience the Skytrain and have time to talk. In fact Helen didn't talk much, she seemed to be too entertained by the variety of travelers who would enter and leave the train at each station. He noticed that she was the type of person who liked to see what other people where doing and most of the times he could see that she was imagining a whole life for them.

It was curious to think that each person on a bus or Skytrain enters there with their own life and problems to solve. It is magical how many different personalities travel together in a bus everyday, specially in Canada where culture is so abundant.

They made a quick stop at the mall so Octavian could buy a new computer. He said his old one was almost deteriorating, and the Z tool was not working. Helen thought it was a good reason to change, and didn't realize they'd spend so much time on the electronics store. It was 1 in the afternoon.

"Where you wanna eat?" He asked. The big bag boasting his new computer's brand hung from his shoulder and gave Helen a shiver.

"I don't know, you are the tourist guide here... and please, put the computer somewhere else, this is calling too much attention."

Octavian didn't know if he should feel happy that Helen showed concern about his shop or preoccupied himself because there were no good restaurants nearby except McDonalds. He wanted to take her somewhere new and innovating. But as incredible as it might seem, Vancouver is not so big and he had gone to all kinds of restaurants.

"First of all, Vancouver is secure. You can walk with your phone with no worries, so why losing your mind with a computer?"

He took Helen to the beach. There was a restaurant there called Cactus; it was a little expensive but he would figure that out.

* taken from the title of  Douglas Cupland' book, this name reflects the dominant steel-and-glass architectural aesthetic of the city's downtown.