Read Archipelago N.Y.: Flynn for Free Online Page B

the
compartment was empty. Flynn closed the hatch, shouldered his sack, collected
the rest of his diving gear and headed for the stairwell.
    The smell in the
air changed as he climbed higher up the building. He was now negotiating the
rusty metal steps of the fire escape which ran all the way to the main roof. Gradually,
the stench of the sewer barge and the rot in the basement were replaced by the delicious
smell of cooked food. The whiff of fried fish and mussel stew was so
overpowering, it made Flynn’s stomach rumble loudly. He had also picked up the
very distinct aroma of fried meat… Rat meat and squab. Flynn felt his mouth
water and remembered the day when Madison Ray had sneaked a couple of pigeons
from her farm for them to cook…. Squab was a rare treat… Rat meat was more
common on the Lower Side. But rats were hard to catch, no matter how many traps
were set around, usually using fresh water as bait. They were clever little
bastards, thought Flynn. And how did they manage to find drinking water was
anybody's guess… But having seen them in the waste barrels, Flynn had gone off
rat meat. He was no longer tempted even by the delicious, Peking-style ones,
cooked in spicy seaweed and octopus ink.
    Flynn climbed past
the first few floors, trying not to stare at the people who lived there. This
had once been a magnificent office building, but by now nothing remained of its
former glory. It was an indoor maze. All kinds of junk had been used to create
partitions and to turn the open spaced floors into tiny, makeshift apartments.
What was considered an apartment on the Lower Side was more or less a small
cubicle of a room, and not much else. Residents who were single weren’t allowed
an apartment of their own… Like it or not, they had to share bunk-beds with
others… Sometimes as many as seven occupants would cram into one unit and call
it their home… Those who were fortunate enough to occupy cubicles next to the
outer walls had built extensions and could enjoy a little bit more space. These
add-on living quarters would protrude outward from the building, some of them
reaching so far out as to create a bridge to the building across.
    Clotheslines,
heavy with the day’s laundry, were strung everywhere. The washing of clothes
was done in the canal waters below. There were hoists with baskets at the
backside of each building, used by the occupants to lower their clothes to the
Laundry Platform at water’s level. That was where everybody washed too, but
personal hygiene was not top of the list on the Lower Side... Well, those who
cared to stay clean did their best, thought Flynn… The ones who didn’t, simply
went about their business, not giving a damn, stinking of rancid sweat and
dirty feet. Most of the kids Flynn knew fell into that category… Unlike them,
he was proud of his overall appearance. He would spend so much of his time
diving that his skin and hair were in excellent condition. He had only two pairs
of shorts and three shirts, but he made sure they were always clean and mended…
And people were beginning to comment on how handsome he was looking… Flynn had
to admit he was enjoying all the attention … especially from some of the girls
in the building… Just now, he had caught a couple of them peeking from behind
their cubicle doors, giggling and blushing as he passed.
    But instead of
stopping to chat, Flynn chose to ignore them. He kept climbing, taking two,
three steps at a time. Finally, he emerged onto the main rooftop and looked up
at the building’s tower extension rising before him. It was an awkward, shabby
construction, crooked and tilting dangerously to one side, wrapped in its
tangle of ladders, walkways and cables. Built out of scaffolding poles, covered
with sheets of corrugated metal and plastic, the tower was almost as tall as
the building on which it stood. Halfway up the tower was Flynn's tiny apartment…
the home he shared with his father and luckily with nobody else. He