Part 2:
His journey was going to be difficult; Shiloh knew that for sure. His breath was gagged as well as his body was pouring down sweat. He had a terror. His dreams haunted him with the what ifs, the depressing state of his lovelife, his sad desperation of leaving his family. Shiloh could not go back now— he did not have the options. Miles away with no money—there was no way that was going to happen. His mind jotted down his thoughts, feelings, expressions. Drawings and words took place in his notebook; he passed the dedicated lines so that his words could change into pictures. These pictures depicted his ex’s face: The swell of lips as he smiled; his green eyes that were barely visible when his cheeks smooched them; his neatly slicked back hair; the angled long face and chin of his. Shiloh loved all parts of his ex-lover. Shiloh missed him. After writing and drawing his thoughts, he placed down the pen, his wrist cramping, throbbing. A hiss ran out of him as he stopped to rub his twitching pain. Nonetheless, he bared the ache, getting up and walking towards the bathroom. Shiloh got ready, running the shower. Clothes were taken off, bit by bit, and his naked body was on show. He was fit enough— with his height he would be labeled as overweight—a little chubby-looking around the hips, stomach, but that was muscle and fat from moderate exercise. Overall, Shiloh was physically stunning. And his face was nice to look at. His ex loved rubbing his thick eyebrows, smoothing them down, and enjoyed kissing the mole on his left cheek. It was no that… it was just his status. In this world, one could only be grouped into two sections: A Lacrimosa or A Herculean. These dictated the lifestyle of one person. As a Lacrimosa, one was weak; they had no mighty courage to rival in dog, or the style to become the number one model nor they did not have the prowess to be in the business top 10. But what Lacrimosas dominated over was precaution. Never had a Lacrimosa not have a back up, plan b, plan xyz. They were prepared to fail, prepared to solve, prepared to bear the worst. Nothing could catch a Lacrimosa off guard, well, save for another(and higher) Lacrimosa. That was one of the things they had over Herculeans. Herculeans, on the other hand, were just better at doing things. Better at business, better at modeling, better at life. They had money, power in their hands. They held social grace at their utmost quality, and anything worse than that was unacceptable. Including, yet not limited to, their children, their life, their neighbors, and so much more. That was why there was such a huge disparity between Lacrimosas living style and Herculeans. Herculeans never intermarried with Lacrimosa, even if they were filthy rich(and there were many rich Lacrimosa—they are cautious beings). It was almost kin to them being different species. But they were not, both were humans. So Lacrimosas were the instinctive bunch of the human species, while Herculeans deemed quality best of all. Shiloh rubbed his hair as it fizzed and puffed out. He knew the reason his ex left; he was not the best quality for marriage. Maybe as a boyfriend, just not as a husband. It hurt to acknowledge that, though Shiloh had expected this; not the pain that racked through his body and mind. However, the fact was his ex-boyfriend would leave for another. He was Herculean, wanting the best of the best, even if it hurt, while Shiloh was Lacrimosa, instinctive in all, including love. It was not meant to be, especially with a Herculean man whose values were misplaced in his heart. Some Herculean and Lacrimosa families worked; But it was taboo to talk about them. Pulling up his pants, Shiloh looked in the mirror, fixing what needed to be fixed, shifting what needed to be shifted, tying what needed to be tied. He was finished and starving. Step by step, Shiloh reached the dining carriage. The stalls, bar stools, and booths were empty inside the carriage. It seemed that Shiloh was all alone in this train. But that would not surprise him. Around this time, it would be the sixth day he had been on this train. Shiloh explored everything out of boredom and curiosity, beginning to wonder if this was a scam, dream, or something in between. Probably the last passenger on this locomotive, Shiloh knew that once he reached [Terrai Platform Three], it was time to leave this forsaken train. He stretched his body, feeling his blood pump as well as his muscles jump when he ordered something small from the train member. He grabbed the bowl, sat down at the stool, and ate his fill. Then darkness passed vision. Shiloh jerked, spoon flinging so watery sweet soup to the floor, while he turned to the window—or where the window would be. It was pitch-black, but Shiloh could see the movement of the train as dim outlines of brick showed. He was under a tunnel; one would expect the train to cut on some lights even if the sun was shining. A chill overcame him; it overcame the whole train with a smoldering shudder. Shiloh could have sworn something passed through. It could be a ghost, but Shiloh had limited view on spirituality; he neither believed, disbelieved, or had it. He was neutral to it. So maybe it was a ghost or not, Shiloh felt something happen to this train or the surrounding area. But before he could acknowledge the thought, light could be seen from ahead. The stunning light of the sun as the train strode out of the tunnel, and the outside was shown. It was devastatingly alluring. The distant mountains that peeked over the sky; the long trails of lush, tall grass, and in between those fields stood flowers upon flowers—gorgeous flora; the sky gleamed brightly, beaming the world below with its heat. The smile framed his face so naturally. It was beautiful. Shiloh could feel his face heat up while his body twitched, ready to bounce. This was his stop. Oh, he was happy that he left. Shiloh stood up, climbing over the booth’s seats to get to the window. The train station was so close that Shiloh saw the distinct details that made it stand out. The station stood tall, not unlike the one before, with a long spherical roof—that seemed to gather like— and a booming, bustling group of people moving about, getting ready. Sighing, Shiloh glared to the outside, the sky. The sky was milky blue with swooshes of white clouds stirring around. Then there were the suns; One large yellow, glowing brightly to the ground while the other was red, dimmer than than its sister, but shined enough to make it mark… Two suns. Definitely only had one sun where he was from. It was universally known and a fact that there was only one sun. So what were two gleaming suns doing in the sky? Shiloh thought about it more—would have mused about it more, but an announcement called: “Greeting Ladies, Gents, and those in between or out, We are reaching our final destination [Terrai Platform Three]. Please grab all your bags, and double check, before departing the train.” A beat, or two, later the announcement repeated. Shiloh jumped up, swiftly moving towards his carriage, completely forgoing his breakfast and the weird happenings around him. * “Please stay seated until the train stops and doors are opened.” Shiloh felt the train crawl to stop while he stood close to the doors. He was excited, worried, and was not listening to the announcer’s words as he almost fell on his face when the train jerked. Shiloh shoved his palm forward, hitting the wall, steadying himself. There was a sound as the doors opened, akin to the heaven’s gates opening. His heart fluttered, as Shiloh finally caught sight of the outside. Oh, it was glorious. The stunning paths to the inside of the station, created of beautiful pearly stones. Shiloh stepped, suitcase in hand, on the paved walkway departing the train and entering the grand train station. He has entered a world unknown with only minimum commodities, an all expenses trip, and a hope. His eyes wandered around, glowing with starry hope. Though, Shiloh could feel something creeping over him. He was the only one to leave the train—which put him off— and as he walked through the crowds of people entering the train, nobody paid attention to him, even if he bumped into them. Either they were ignoring him or something else was happening. Since he was stumbling through, look at everything waiting for him. The people, they looked nothing like him. Some held animal heads for their heads, while others were completely like him, human-looking. But Shiloh felt something was wrong. Underneath it all, something abnormal was swimming. And with two unreal, but beautiful, suns hanging over his head, Shiloh felt he was cursed. This was not home—well, he was no longer for his original world. What was this? Shiloh gripped his ticket in his palm. But Shiloh continued to walk onto the platform. He did not know what to do. Eyes roamed around, and he noted things seemed different while he stood center in the crowd. He was alone and confused. Shiloh mumbled, pulling up to a bench to plop on. Shiloh shuffled through the things he held, pulling out his notebook, which included his ticket and a paper of printed, and written, information about his trip. The paper unfolded with Shiloh reading: ⦇Platform Terrai Three… 723 Starmending Avenue… Parlor 3 on Simplop Drive… Hel… … If ever confused or in need of help, please contact the [Living With Esse] help center by repeating “Iterum Metanoia” This saying is specialized to each ticket holder⦈ “Iterum… Metanoia?” Shiloh spoke quietly, confusion hinting in every word. Words that held no value to him. He did not understand, nor know what these words mean, and it seemed that nothing happened. Ting! ⦇AH!⦈ Shiloh hissed, his wrist tingling in pain. Eyes shifted down as, with his own seeing eyes, something materialized onto his dark wrist. Clear, clean, and cut watch was on his wrist; it was an expensive-looking wrist watch—something he would or could never own. He tried to take it off, reaching down, only to note that it was simply impossible to do. Shiloh gaped, looking out at the people around him, to see if they saw what he was seeing. Yet they passed on like he was never there. Shiloh was freaking out. He touched the watch, skimming the clock screen. Ding! Something surprising happened. “Living With Esse Booking… what the hell did you do?” Shiloh was no longer home. And the browser-tab screen pop-up: —[Welcome to Terrai]— only reinforced this.
* And experience something new.
Comments (0)
See all