The Allure of the Equinox Flower

The smell of the freshly bloomed flower enters my nostrils. I'm enticed by its sweet sting and I can't rid myself of my intense desire to keep smelling. I leave my shoddy house and enter the bustling city street. It's almost as if I'm being lifted off of the ground and I'm being flown outside. The clock strikes loudly and I become all too aware that yet again, I will be late for work. I sit on the edge of the extravagant fountain residing in the middle of the square. I'm constantly taken aback with it's bursting water that falls gently on its own internal puddle. I close my eyes and listen to the sprinkling of the molecules hitting each other. The water hisses an enveloping hiss that keeps me shaking with zeal. I cannot keep doing this. I'm barely staying afloat, and I'm definitely not doing my family proud. My mind reasons with me: there's no reason to try and head to work however, as my last straw was 50 straws ago. I look at the slow rolling clouds mosey along and I imagine feeling their fluffy moisture. My eyes gaze to street level and I find myself utterly frozen. I see her, a woman. Her soft, lightly browned skin glistens in the sunlight, her womanly figure accentuated by her yellow dress grabs me. It's a moment that one in their lifetime waits for. I'm completely entranced by her beauty. I've seen women all the time, but this is the first time in my life that I've seen a woman. You can see it in the way she holds herself, in the way her mind feels. It's a notion that cannot be described any other way than just knowing. Her essence doesn't feel muddy or clouded like everyone else. She radiates a presence that simply clicks. The lips on her face are a bewitching pink, her eyes a deep blue. There's no other way to put it, she's perfect. Much to my liking, her front teeth are a tad out of place; an overbite is what one would call it. Her essence helps me realize I'm in the deep end in the pool of love. What ties it all together is the flower, resting gently on the straw hat upon her head. The other women in the town, and in other towns all are adorned by flowers, but this flower, I have never had the pleasure of gazing upon.

She saunters to the train station and I decide to go after her on a whim. No, not decide, the scent of spring floats me along to try and chase this mystery woman. We enter the used train station with its creaking architecture, it's loose bolts, it's vibrating floor. The wind from the trains is exhilarating; the crowd shows this same energy. Everyone scrambles to find a train, a vessel to whisk them to their next destination. I lose her in the sea of these individuals trying to climb aboard. My heart races, obviously because of the chase, but more so my attraction towards this woman. It occurs to me that what I'm doing is somewhat creepy. Do I stop chasing? To be in love based on a simple glance? In my indecision and infernal conflict I lose complete sight of the equinox flower. Her train leaves and I solemnly sit on the bench facing the tracks. What am I doing? Was I really going to leave everything here for a woman I fancy? A bit of time passes as I sit in my self wallowing. A hefty group of guards spot me. Oh no; I owe them money. The next train headed towards my desires arrives and allows passengers to board. I don't have any money, shoot! They approach me and demand what I owe them, and I tell them I have to get it from my home. I pretend to walk with them towards my house, but at the crack of a whip I sprint towards the fleeting train. A bit slow; they have no chance of catching me. I leap into the air and grab the ladder on the caboose of my new vessel. I hold on for dear life as I flow on to my new destiny. 

As the train leaves the station I carefully climb into the caboose. There's not much inside other than random bits of metal and wood. There are "seats," if you could call them that, but not much else. I find that for my safety, sitting on the floor is probably better. I sit cross legged on the cold floor and begin to feel quite giddy. If I find this woman, what do I say? How do I approach her? Wait, I'm now jobless, how do I go about impressing her? This was a bit of a rash decision, I will admit. I get the courage to stand up and look outside of the window. With nature, words can't describe my sweet zest. The rolling hills, the warm Sun that envelops you like a big hug, the cold smell of the grass that enters your whole body; this is spring. Someone shouts from behind me, "Boo!" I scream, falling away from the window and towards the door. I feel lightheaded and out of breath. A woman laughs, sitting on one of the seats. Snapping out of my fear, I see her, the one with the flower! My body begins to shake inside and I feel nauseous. She's here! The attraction inside of me is like a raging fire that makes me feel happy to be alive. She giggles and says, "I saw you staring at me in the crowd earlier. I wanted to leave this be, but I saw you jump on back at the station, those guys were chasing you. I thought I'd come back to see if you made it." I don't even know what to say. After clearing my throat I awkwardly say, "Yeah, I owed them a bit of money." "Oh so you're a daredevil, huh?" she says smiling. "No, I'm just really bad with money." She laughs. "It's terrible back here, do you have a ticket?" I hesitate, and she says, "I have an empty seat across from me, I'll say you're in my party." She gets up and leads the way. We climb through the caboose door and carefully walk to the train cabin. Many people stare at us, dressed in fanciful attire. I look down at my own clothes, in their pitiful state. She grabs my wrist and pulls me to her seat. We sit across from each other, with a table in between us. 

"So, what's your name?" she asks, in a soft voice. I struggle out, "It's Chris." Wait, did I just lie about my own name? "It's actually Tim. I forgot my own name for a second." Chuckling she teases me, "Ok Chris Tim." I laugh as well and ask, "What's your name?" "Alysia," she says. We kind of awkwardly stare at each other for a bit. It's a strange feeling; it's like we're being pulled together. Her eyes are so intense, yet soft. She sits across from me, legs crossed. Her right foot bounces and rotates while pointing at me. I clear my throat and break the silence by asking, "So what do you do for a living?" I visibly recoil, because my predicament is a bit complicated. She tells me she doesn't right now, because she is trying to find a career that actually helps people. Working in a factory or anything of the same nature; creation through destruction doesn't appease her. "What about you?" she asks. I don't know what to say here. I go with honesty, "I'm unemployed. I'm in search of the right job as well." She smiles, "Would you like to help people?" I've never been into that business, all I want to do is sit and stare at the sky. I mean, helping people sounds nice but the standard ways of doing so don't appeal to me. "I'm not opposed to it, but then again I'm not opposed to any job. I kind of just go with the flow." She nods her head, "You're a go with the flow kind of guy." I shake my head yes. We reach our stop, a town called, "Revolution." I've never been anywhere close to this place. Alysia says she lives here and will explain the name as we go through the day. 

I jump off the train first and hold out my hand in anticipation. "And you're a gentleman," she says. I can't stop staring at her; she's intoxicating. It's almost as if the Sun shines on her face differently or something. The air, the Sun rays, it all caresses her instead of how the laws of physics cram themselves onto all the rest of us. I don't know how, but whatever created all of this, made this one perfect. The air crackles around her, the shadows bow beneath her feet. We walk out of the train station and enter a giant city. Buildings adorn each street corner in many shapes and sizes. Shops are open, children are running around; it's stunning. She grabs my arm as we walk along the road. I put her on the right side of me and she asks me if I'd like to spend the day with her. "Ok, "Mr. Go With the Flow," since we both don't work, want to see the best spots in town?" I quickly and most obviously say yes without hesitation. She looks up at me and says, "This place is called Revolution because they say that the man who started this city was reinvented when he first came across the land. Ever since then, anyone who comes here goes through their own sort of revolution. Some say magic may be involved, and I agree." Alysia and I walk, chit chatting as she shows me everything to see in this block.

We reach a shop with trinkets from all over the world, some have technology I haven't ever seen. "What's that gizmo up there?" I ask, pointing at a weird box. Inside of it are moving pictures! Music plays from it as well! Alysia laughs and explains to me what it's called. "Why, that's a television!" According to her, it basically moves pictures and plays sound. Perhaps magic is involved in this place after all. I look at the table in front of us as Alysia tries on an assortment of different hats and other pieces of garb. Even with the technology in front of me, I'm astounded by her beauty. It's hard to focus on the gadgets with her presence. Her arms dance through the air as she moves. Her aura dances around me as I stare. I try my best to look at the technology in the shop. I see weird objects of all sorts; pronged metal, wood on wheels, a magic box that plays music, I also see something called, "A gaming console." "Alysia, this is most puzzling, no?" The person behind the table laughs along with Alysia. Alysia says, "What's there to be puzzled about, Tom? These gadgets are simply, from, let's say another time." "And how did they get here?" Alysia shrugs her shoulders, "No one knows." "And why doesn't anyone tell other people about these inventions?" Alysia explains that Revolution is a weird place to live. Anyone who steps inside the town, doesn't remember the gadgets when they leave. I find it peculiar but I look past it. Alysia takes a new straw hat, and puts her flower atop it. She grabs my hand and asks me if I'd like to eat something. I oblige and she takes me to "Eat pizza."