I wake up early in the morning before the sun has risen or the shops below open. I lace my shoes and leave the door of my apartment behind me, descending down the stairs and through the main entrance of my building. I turn up my street and make my way to the top of the hill. I find my breath with each step as I make my way onto the Plaza.
The crest of the hill as Wornall makes its way onto the designed shopping hub offers one of the best views in Kansas City. The miniature tower stands out below as the Spanish architecture stands alone in the Midwest. I look at the buildings that seem so out of place and reminisce on the years I lived abroad. The yellow walls, sun-drenched and decaying with time, make their way back into my mind as I trot along the streets for my morning run.
Looping around the curve, I hear the familiar sound of a guitar that takes me back to Seville, the sister city of Kansas City, the city which gifted the architects inspiration for the very neighborhood I find myself everyday. How I long for the life in those streets again. To see the guitarist whose daily habit led him to a curved alleyway with a perfectly placed nail and stool. To have that time back again is a gift every day as I run through the streets of Kansas City.
Walking through the streets of Seville is walking through time itself. It’s a city that survived hundreds of years, changing hands of governments and cultures. The city seems to wind itself down in the meandering fashion of all great things that have no need to hurry. This city, too, could stand through time. One day, perhaps, tourists will come and wonder at the age of the buildings and the concrete of the streets. Perhaps, but not today.
Bryce Slaughter is Master’s student at Avila University studying Education.