Spider's Web

Prologue

Here is the town, soaked by the light of another sunset. No matter what scenery the windows show – the flats are caught in nets made of Christmas, of wishes and small daily things, far from the evening that falls behind the junkyard.

The show that these homes offer to the world, however, is not less varied or charming.

On the first floor, a child clings to the receiver to greet his aunt and uncle. Just one elevator's step above, an old grandma promises cake to her little grandson; next door, a young girlfriend entwines the cable with her fingers, sending invisible smiles to her beloved.

On the other side of the town, the wires are tense; in a grey block of flats, the police sit without a word, waiting for the first ring to trigger a night of chaos.

Many, in this town made of crowds and uneasy silence, rely on telephones to keep their bonds together. Their dreams run, far beyond the outskirts, looking for something they may never find.

Sometimes they wish to be on the other end of the line, to hug someone they miss, or to enjoy a familiar view. Never, in those moments, do they remember the cheerful song of their fireplaces, or the warm colours of their carpets.

They long for what they don't see; such is the nature of men. And now, with the receiver leaning on their ears, they feel disappointed – they listen to wishes that burn out of their reach, beyond the unbreakable silence of the line.

Complaints will not do; the struggles of the phone company, tracking malfunctions in ever different zones, will not make a difference. Tonight — just for one night — the cables will embrace someone else's life.

Hello there, Ghost Trick fans! Now that Sounds of Shibuya, my TWEWY fanwriting challenge, is finally done, I'm glad to introduce you all a new drabble project.
Descriptive stories about places have always been one of my favourite genres. Thus, of course, I could ask for nothing better when I experienced this game's colourful, varied and fascinating setting. Ghost Trick offers many different sights; I added to the mix my favourite travelling feature ever, the phone line, and here we are!

Spider's Web is going to be a collection of drabbles about the Ghost Trick locations, or, to be more precise, each known location with a phone number. The following list of phone numbers is updated to Chapter 17, and taken from there without any changes.
Spider's Web is the original title of this old drabble of mine. For the occasion, I translated it from Italian and posted it in English as a prologue to this collection.

Since I want to keep the original disposition found in the Phone Book, the drabbles will not be written in chronological order, but according to the list. Of course, beware of spoilers: there will be plenty throughout the whole collection.