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I packed up everything valuable to me. I was ready to go. Really ready. Everything that happened last night made me realize how much I longed for somewhere else. Somewhere where no one can hurt me, make me confused, make me feel gullible, make me weep. Trine was in the other room helping me pack other items. My blue backpack could hold more things than was humanly possible, inside was a vortex. It was one of the great inventions made in Nexternity. Inside it was of course painting supplies, some pillows, fluffy blankets, different clothes, typical tools like keys, and two notebooks, one for the book me and Trine are writing and one for a diary. I've never used a diary before but now would be a great time to start. Trine packed today too, she even brought a smaller version of her star exhilarator. She said it could come in handy and she could work on it more while on the road. I didn't want to say goodbye to anyone before leaving, I just wanted to take my new friend and leave forever. And that's what I thought every moment today.
I just want to run forever.
I kept staring into space, thinking of what happened yesterday and feeling a quiver of sadness, or was it embarrassment, everytime. I wasn't someone who forgets, everyone tells me I shouldn't dwell on things, but it's not as easy as it sounds. It eats you up inside. Trine said she handled Bryn earlier this morning. I didn't know what that meant but today for a while she had a sour, vexed look upon her face. We took one last look at our homes and the apartment hall, then hurried down the steps to the bottom of the complex. We opened the door and then we were finally free from this place. I started my car and Trine stretched before getting inside, she revolved her triangular head upside-down and then up again. I chortled quietly, she looked silly with her head upside-down like that. Some people could spin their heads and some people couldn't. I smiled to myself, Trine is full of surprises. We both got in the shiny car and then we were off. Trine celebrated with a loud "wooo!" and she seemed happier than before. I was glad.
Let's run forever to the Sun.
My car had a dark purple outside and a gray inside. There were blue fuzzy dice for good luck hanging in the front window and the steering wheel was leopard patterned. I always went out of my way to make my car appeal to me, it even had soft dark gray blankets on the seats for comfort. As we drove, we passed everywhere we once knew. The ambrosial herb filled gardens, the loving Omnist churches, the parks with fresh grass, children frolicking through the playgrounds and fields, and of course I gazed at the sun-drowned pond one more time, it almost made me want to stay, like it was pulling me with the Sun's scorching palms and the pond's clear, flaunting water. I knew that I would meet the sun again. Again, and again, and again, there was no where I would miss it, no where it couldn't embrace me. And that's what kept me going. I saw Trine looking longingly at the sun too, but she looked back and closed her eye, as if trying to avoid the feeling of despair. I realized then that she wasn't looking at the sun, but looking at something that the sun was hiding. I put my hand on her shoulder and looked at her intensely.
"Do you really want to go?"
She sat still for a moment, thinking deeply. It seemed like she was thinking about something she hadn't told me, something that made fear start bubbling behind her eye. I knew something else made her want to leave. It wasn't just because of Paradise.
"Yes. More than anything." She answered.
I forced myself to smile, but I felt a hungry feeling in my heart. Like I wanted to eat whatever was troubling Trine and take it away for good.
"... Trine? Is there something else you aren't telling me? Why do you want to leave?"
I instantly wanted to take back my question. I felt a twinge of dread that pinched my chest. All I wanted was to understand her, to take away whatever pain I saw simmering inside of her, but I could chase her away, just like the questions I feared the most, just like last night in the party bathroom, overwhelmed by a question that went deep into my soul and scraped the bottom of my heart. I saw different emotions flicker through Trine's eye, each had a different sparkle to it, almost beautiful like a painting. She breathed, and then blinked 4 times, and then a tear formed.
"The real reason I didn't leave my house was because I was being hunted."
I held my breath when I heard that, I didn't want to know anything else. I just wanted her to be okay. I wish I didn't even know. But I had to find out more.
"By... who?" I asked, with a tremble in my quiet voice.
"By the Moon." She said as her eyebrow twitched. "He doesn't like when I talk, or walk, or move, or bruise. He doesn't like me getting hurt. He doesn't like me getting love. He doesn't like anything. I broke his rules and then he chased after me, he crawled out of his place in the sky like a spider from its web and then he followed me all the way here. I hid in my room for months, and then I couldn't hear his screams anymore."
Her eye was wide and shaking. Her whole body was shaking. I tried to think of an explanation. Maybe Trine was insane. But she didn't seem insane, she seemed logical and kind and smart, but fear twisted her in this moment.
"Who is the Moon?" I asked.
"... He used to be a friend. No one believed I could talk to the Moon and I believed them for a while. I thought maybe I was talking to myself, until I saw him barreling towards me with a stare ready to shed my blood." She said, nervously looking behind her two or three times.
"Is this from your past life?" I asked, trying to hide the horrible fear in my voice.
"No," she answered. "He is from this one."
I knew I needed to ask even more, but she seemed so paranoid even thinking about it. I couldn't do this to her. I had to wait.
"Are you safe now?"
"Yes. I think so." Trine said, looking down. "I haven't heard him for a while. And when I look at him up in the sky he still sleeps."
"Good." I said.
I didn't say anything else and she seemed to calm down. At that moment I wanted to care for her like she was my child, hold her in my arms and tell her it's okay and give her butterfly kisses to make her feel better but I couldn't. I was too afraid, myself.
We rode for a while and I tried to relax my shoulders. Everything was okay. He slept. Whatever he was. I turned on music on the radio and Trine kept being more silent than she usually was. She was reading a book, immersed in it, trying to forget her troubles. Everything was just a blur for an hour. It felt like all I could feel was my sight. I glanced at the purple and dark blue trees, sometimes they were other colors than regular alternate Earth trees because of light bending through a different dimension, though this only happens in places with a very sunny atmosphere. I paid attention to the deers crossing the road, the birds flying ahead, the mess of mountains cutting through the sky, the rustling of imps and talking flowers in the prairies, the shine of the sun through the sky. I knew the sun was always with me. I grinned slightly. As I strained my eye from the light, I saw something on the left side of the road. It was a large sign, with the words "RYDER'S SPLENDIFEROUS CARNIVAL!" and a bright red arrow pointing to a large opening. I pulled over to get a look at the clearing and it led to one of the most colorful places I had ever seen. There were Rollercoasters and slides and stands and those rides that went all the way into the sky and then fell down and made your guts feel like they were spilling out of you. I felt a sear of excitement in me and I turned around to tell Trine, who was already beaming. She put her book down rapidly.
"That looks so fun! We should go!" She exclaimed.
She got out of the car fast, as if trying to run away from her mind and lead it to somewhere else more pleasing. Of course! This was the perfect thing to keep our spirits up, I thought. I got out of the car too and we both headed towards the gleaming carnival.
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