The conductor's raspy choice of words shocked me. My expectations of Purple were immediately crushed, and I was left with more questions than I had before. However, Lenny's words of encouragement made me smile.
"But… I need you to make me a promise," he says slowly. I shift my balance to my left foot, slightly leaning in. Lenny eyes the two of us for several seconds. "Since you two have been the only ones to even look to my advice, I want you to check in with me every time the train comes back to Purple, okay? I am curious to see what will happen. Promise?"
A cage in myself had been opened. Fear let loose, barking at every organ in my body, wrapping my mind up in its spiky fur. What if one day, we won't be able to meet with the conductor? What if we don't last a week, and we let this stranger down? More importantly, why do I feel such a strange vibe - no - 'connection' with this man?
Mindlessly, I spoke. "We will."
I look over at Candy in shock to her unexpected commitment to this man. At first I think about asking her if she's sure about what she's doing, but I hesitate. What's the harm in talking to this man once a week? We both would go there, so it's not like he can't do anything. In fact, I've seen how aggressive Candy can get, I know she can fight for herself. Plus, he's not wrong. If we don't succumb to whatever is there, we're still capable of making the decision to leave without ending our lives. That was something else I've heard. Some people believe that the only means of escape is suicide. That's what led me to believe that there is no escape. As if you can't get out of Purple…legally. Suddenly, the question seeps out of my lips before I process that I'm speaking.
"Does that mean no one's ever entered the train from Purple? Does Purple…let you leave?
Jae glances at me uncertainly. I cover my mouth, wondering where those words came from. Out of nowhere, Jae spoke.
"Does that mean no one's ever entered the train from Purple? Does Purple… let you leave?"
Lenny looked at us, furrowing his brows, "I'm not sure. My theory is that Purple does allow it, however, most people don't survive long enough to get back to the train station." His ominous words send chills down my bones. I nervously shifted my balance, my left leg getting tired. A silence filled the space as we pondered over questions. Lenny swiveled around to press a couple more buttons.
"Why do you believe we can survive longer? Where and when did you see potential in us? Have we… met before?" I wondered how he knew anything about us, seeing as he only stayed in control of the train. The other employees were in charge of the riders.
I sigh heavily, but try my best to keep my breathing quiet, as I await an answer from Mr. Lenny. He raises his eyebrows at Candy's questions.
"I believe that you two have a spark in your soul that will never go out, no matter what. I saw it the moment you two stepped on the train. It's just something about this train, it reveals character." He looks at us for a moment, eagerly waiting for our responses to his cryptic answer. I could see in his eyes that he wanted us to react. I'm not sure I could explain it, but in a way, it made me trust him a little more.
I opened my mouth to talk, when I looked outside for the first time. My eyes were so fixated on this strange old man, that the thought of what Purple's outskirts looked like hadn't crossed my mind. Or how much time had passed. It was almost impossible for that much time to pass so quickly.
A tint of a pink-purple color painted the sky, inviting me in just to notice specks of floating colors - hot air balloons. A few were floating around with different shades of purple. A small city sat in the far distance, and felt almost normal. Next to us were looming mountains, the tips covered in a thin layer of snow. The violet landscape was mystical, drawing me in. I unconsciously stepped towards the glass, taking in the sight.
"Woah."
My eyes fixate on the wonders that fell before me.
"Whoa." Candy breathed, just as amazed as I am. I'm unable to piece together words as the colors dance around the sky to form a new kind of beauty.
Mr. Lenny is eerily quiet.
It makes me wonder if he doesn't want to ruin the moment for us, but wants to remind us not to trust it. Instead, he inhales slowly and murmurs, "truly is something to behold, isn't it?"
I chuckle at the understatement and wait for Candy to find words, as I am still struggling.
Jae didn't reply, but I had no words either. I wanted to appreciate the dancing hues, but a voice in the back of my head told me it was only a mirage. I winced slightly, not wanting the view to go away, to reveal some hidden darkness. The conductor is expressionless - no - there was a glint of something, remorse, maybe?
Lenny talked for us, "Well, girls, you better get back to the seats. Get more sleep, you will need it. I need to get back to manning the train. When we arrive, I'll come talk to you." I nod my head in agreement, anxiety welling up in my chest. I look to Jae for a reaction.
I feel Candy's eyes on me, and pull myself from the trance that I fell into to follow Candy to the back of the train. As the door closed, I immediately turn to Candy.
"Do you believe him?" I ask expectantly. His heavy words weighed on my shoulders and I wasn't sure if I could understand what he means by Purple being deceiving. Maybe it was the people of Purple that Mr. Lenny is talking about, but after getting a taste of the sights, I may be willing to risk it just to live in such a beautiful and breathtaking place like Purple. Right?
"Do you believe him?" Jae says suddenly. I bite my lip, pondering over the question. My instinct is to trust the man who may have an idea of this mystery place, but just as much doubt clouds my mind. I stretch before sitting down.
"To be honest with you, I don't know anymore. Everything feels so… surreal. My mind can't keep up." I yawn, trying to avoid looking outside. "I want to have full energy when we get there, so I'm going to take a nap. You should too."
I lay on my pack. Thousands of thoughts try to enter my head, and I struggle keeping them out. Somehow, my eyes end up shutting anyways and the world fades to black as I dream of how Purple might be.
I nod at Candy's response as she relaxes in her seat and shortly falls asleep. I suppose after everyone's constant warnings; the man at the bar, people at home, people in the train station, and even the worried eyes throughout the journey. Is everyone under some sort of influence that compels them to say that? Is it all just one big coincidence of some sort? How could anyone hate such a wonderful place? Am I being deceived? The thoughts made me shudder, so I allowed them to run through my mind until they became a cloud, slowly seeping into my cloudy dreams, easing me into a deep sleep.
The train suddenly skids to a stop. I jolt awake. My lungs are struggling to catch up, and my hands are drenched in sweat. I look over to Jae, who somehow is sound asleep. I wonder if I should wake her up. My eyes wander to the station.
It is completely empty. Not a soul in sight. However, it is not dirty, nor bloody, nor overgrown, nor anything close to horrific. Purple station was unnervingly normal. A few benches scattered the place, along with lilac signs with directions. Royal purple colored flowers accompanied the benches. There was a very quiet melody coming from some type of speaker outside the train.
No announcement indicated our arrival, because Mr. Lenny had decided to wish us good luck himself. As he stepped in, I gently shook Jae awake.
"We're here."
I slowly and gently grow awake, until I hear Candy's voice. "We're here."
Alarm filled my chest as I struggle to focus my vision, standing up and losing my balance.
Purple. We're here. We're actually here. There's no backing out now. I quietly pick up my bags as Candy and I head out of the train. Mr. Lenny waves us off as he goes to the front of the train. I wonder if he plans on staying the whole 50 minutes. We enter the train station to see no one boarding the train. In fact, the train station was practically empty except for a clerk and a janitor. Noticing the lack in several job positions for this building, I turn to Candy and whisper, "Do you think the security guards are on break?" Every other train station I've been to has had a few security guards patrolling the building, but this one had no guards in sight. In fact, I didn't even see any security cameras. It suddenly dawned on me that maybe they didn't need security.
I spaced out for a bit, lost in my thoughts and anxiety. Jae's small voice pulled me back, "Do you think the security guards are on break?" The look on her face showed me she already knew the answer.
I took in a deep breath, realizing I forgot to breathe.
"What the hell do we do now?"
I started to walk towards the clerk. If we were going to live here, we needed to get some help. Perhaps someone who worked in Purple wouldn't be as cryptic.
"Uh, hi," I waved towards the woman. "I'm C-" I blink, about to say my real name. No, be cautious. "Christine. And this is Grace. We were wondering if you had any suggestions for where to rent a place?" I attempted a wink at Jae.
The woman eyed us for a bit, then smiled gently. "I'm Violet. I would be happy to help you!"
My heartbeat quickens upon hearing Candy lie about both of our names. I tried to hide the fact that my legs were shaking, but my shifty eyes may have given it away. I hoped the lady interpreted it as my nervousness to being in Purple.
"I'm Violet. I would be happy to help you!" Violet was quite a peculiar character. She wasn't wearing any sort of work uniform, in fact she was wearing quite the opposite. She wore a white crop top with spaghetti straps and, as she stood up to grab something, I saw her shorts. They were a dark, deep purple. On top of that, her hair had a choppy style to it and was dyed lilac. Tattoos covered her left arm in a sleeve. Definitely not someone I'd find working at a train station. She turns back to us and hands Candy a map.
"Alright babes, I'm gonna give you some strange directions to my favorite apartment complex but once you head that way you'll understand what I'm getting at. You ready?"
I look over at Candy and quietly nod to Violet.
"Okay, so when you first exit you're going to have three options; left, straight, or right. You're going to go straight. You're gonna pass a really nice pizza place and whatever you do, don't go in. You'll never get out, trust me, that food is heavenly. As soon as you pass the pizza place, you're gonna go left, which will lead you to the 'Crystal Garage' where some sick ass music is playing, you pass that and right around the corner, a couple blocks ahead, is your apartment. The kid at the desk is a sweet boy, he'll show you to your place. Did you get all that?"
"Okay, wait, so straight, left, right, avoid pizza…" I recite, not wanting to get lost at all. I hadn't even thought about how strangely friendly Violet was. Or why we had to avoid the pizza place. Perhaps it was something like the casino in Percy Jackson.
After quickly thanking the clerk, I started towards the exit of the train station. I placed a hand on Jae's shoulder, hoping it would maybe comfort her. Except, the only sentence I could form was nowhere near comforting.
"Should we trust her?" From watching tv shows, to just life experience, it's best not to trust anyone. Especially since we were in the most untrustworthy city ever. Violet could have sent us to a murder house for all we know. Maybe the pizza place wasn't all that bad. Maybe the apartments would be dangerous.
Not one second from this trip, had I ever stopped thinking of the "maybe's…"
I jump at Candy's hand, but relax once I realize we're no longer within earshot of Violet.
"Should we trust her?"
I inhale deeply as the stress of what just happened melts off my shoulders. I look down at the ground and think for a moment.
"I don't really know what other option we have." I look ahead of me and begin walking, forcing myself not to think about why this place is so beautiful and peaceful when everyone was warning us against it. Even the townspeople are greeting us and smiling at us as we walk by. Is everyone else just bitter and couldn't stand how nice everyone is? Did everyone happen to have a falling out with one person and swore off it? I still don't understand, but I'm sort of scared to find out.
At any second, this perfect reality could all melt and turn into a battleground.
Okay, that might seem far-fetched, but at this point it could be beyond possible. Every aspect of Purple seemed way too surreal. It almost bothered me, as I yearned for an adventure, but this life felt too easy. Where was the fun? The running away? The near-death-experience-but-not-quite-because-I-want-to-live? I shook my head, remembering to be careful for what I wish for.
"I suppose you're right. Oh, look, the pizza place. It smells delicious," Just the smell of a freshly baked pizza enticed me. I pulled out two granola bars, passing one to Jae, and took small bites to fight back hunger.
I smile and take the granola bar, unwrapping it as the enticing scents of the pizza enter my lungs and almost drag me in. In a failed attempt to resist the temptation, I turn my neck to see the inside of the building. Steam emanated from the pizzas with the fluffy dough for the crust. I almost stop dead in my tracks, but thankfully Candy nudges me forward. We make a left and I already hear the music coming from what I suppose is the Crystal Garage. A type of music I don't think I've ever heard before pumps through my veins as the bass controls my heartbeat. I turn to Candy with a smile as we stop to listen to the music for a few moments.
"That's nice," I say. "I'm exhausted. We should hurry." I start crying
everyone turns into zombie werewolves.
they pounce on us
we r dead
bye
We finally arrive to a small lavender apartment complex. Lilacs and other various purple flowers grew along the walls of the main building. I glance at Jae and we walk in together.
At the front desk is the foretold boy. Messy brown curls cover his eyes, and freckles dot his face. He looked only a couple years older than us. The boy wore a blue button down shirt, which I found strange. Why wasn't he wearing purple?
"Hey, how much are the rooms here?" I asked, waiting for a hopefully good response.
The boy looked up, as his dark brown eyes glimmered in the sun that peaked through the windows. His face was soft upon first glance. His skin was frail and gentle, and his face spoke peace. As we walked closer, I read his name tag. Adrian. Adrian smiled a big, pure smile and stood up. "You bet we do. Did Violet send you? God, I love her. Are you two together? Come, follow me, please." His quick words and way of speaking almost threw me off, but I look over at Candy with a confused face. As he began to walk, I waited until he couldn't hear us as I whispered to Candy.
"W-what's up with him?" He proudly escorted us to a door and unlocked it, stepping out of the way for us to enter first.
I kept quiet, afraid to say anything as I peered into the room. I nodded to Adrian and entered the room quickly.
"You have any questions? You can ask me! I'm at the front! Enjoy the room guys!" He closes the door and leaves. I look around the room, not trusting anything. On our right is a small living room, and on the left is a kitchen and a dinner table. Inside the living room is a flat screen TV and a small comfy looking couch. I walked in further and discovered a bedroom and a bathroom at the end of the hallway. The bedroom suspiciously had a single bed and purple decorations. He thinks we're lesbians, I think.
I found a notepad on the nightstand. A movie instinct kicked in, and I pulled one paper off. I called Jae over, who was also exploring the new apartment. On the note, I wrote:
Somethings off. Shouldn't we have discussed rent? What about our room key? I'm hoping there's no cameras - this is why I'm writing this.
I look at Jae with concern on my face, hoping she would understand my anxieties.
I read Candy's scribbles after looking around the room curiously. After processing her words I look up in thought, my eyes trailing every inch of my mind to think of an answer. My wandering eyes fall on the door to a balcony. From my angle I can see the view overlooks the town. It's actually a pretty surreal sight, and I almost get lost in it, but I snap back to the task at hand. I turn back to Candy, determining that my response wouldn't be too bad if they're recording us. I still whisper, though.
"Do you want me to ask? About rent?" I'm sure everyone that's new would ask about that sort of thing, right? Candy is right though, something is definitely off. I wonder if we'll find out what it is soon, or if we have to settle in before we're let out of the dark.
"Yeah, yeah. You go ask, I'll look around the apartment and stuff," I say, crying inside as the edgy monster inside me eats me up. I hate Jae. I hate everything. My eye twitches. I am dead.
purple XD th end
"Yeah, yeah. You go ask, I'll look around the apartment and check out what it has," I wink at her, hoping it would calm any nerves Jae had. She smiled to me, then left to ask the boy at the desk. I went inside the bathroom to discover an unholy amount of lavenders. It wasn't until now that I realized how strong the scent was. It stung my nose, forcing me to leave. But, the lavenders were everywhere. Why hadn't I noticed before?
What the hell was going on?
I stroll out the door and back down the hallway, retracing my steps to where Adrian may be idling. I hear voices as I reach the corner. I recognize the first as Adrian, somehow always managing to speak in sentences of four words. The second was new, but it still sounded friendly. As I turn the corner, a man in an obnoxious purple colored suit met me. He stopped just before we collided, nodded a greeting at me, and continued where he was going. I turn the corner to see Adrian grinning to himself.
"Hey, Adrian, I just wanted to say, it's a beautiful apartment, but uh, how much is it? I just wanted to make sure it's not too high above our price range," I begin, nervously laughing. Adrian tilts his head to the side and points at me.
"You two are new? I thought you weren't. But James insisted it."
I feel my heart race as he speaks. Have people been watching us? Gossiping about us?
"James?" I ask, confused and concerned. Adrian waves me off.
"Don't worry about James. Just toss some candy. He'll leave you be. If you see him. What was your question?" I struggle to recover my words as I stutter.
"O-oh, I was just wondering how much the apartment is."
"Oh, yes, the apartment! Well, actually, it's free. Everything here is free. It's how we are. There is no currency. Not in this area." Adrian beams an innocent smile as if he didn't just say the strangest thing in the world. Immediately I respond with questions.
"What about stealing? How can I trust everyone not to take everything from me?"
Adrian's smile fades, but his innocent energy remains radiating off of him.
"We don't steal things. Why, that's just wrong. It's all about respect. Respect of personal property."
I have several questions, but instead I smile and return to Candy to tell her about what's going on.
Jae recites the story. She points out every detail, the strange man, and how Adrian spoke in such a strange way. In turn, I tell her my findings.
I sit on the comfy couch, but still, my body is tense. My temples are pounding from the smell of lavenders. "How are people… already talking about us? We've been here for only about an hour. Oh god, the smell is killing me."
If I had a snowflake for every question that ran through my head in the past couple days, I'd have a global blizzard storm. Sometimes, I wish I was exaggerating, but I wasn't. I was scared.
I was unbelievably scared.
Suddenly, any want to survive in Purple vanished and I wanted to leave. Nothing felt real. It was as if everyone in Purple had their eyes on me. I rather live in a war zone than here. Death is better than living in anxiety forever, right?
As soon as Candy mentioned the smell, it hit me. My nostrils flared up in alert and the scent clouded my head. I felt dizzy. Maybe even a little sleepy. My eyelids grew heavier with each breath I took in, and if I didn't lay down now, I felt as if I was going to pass out. I sigh, realizing how close it is to noon, and look over at Candy.
"Give purple another chance. See if anything happens. If not, we're fine. I'm just really tired. I want to sleep."
I plop myself onto the couch next to Candy, grabbing a nearby blanket and covering myself, getting comfortable enough to sleep. My eyelids close immediately as I lift a heavy arm to wave goodnight to Candy.
"You take the bed. Goodnight, Candy, sleep well."
Within seconds, I'm fast asleep, dreaming of the possibilities Purple could hold.
As soon as Candy mentioned the smell, it hit me. My nostrils flared up in alert and the scent clouded my head. I felt dizzy. Maybe even a little sleepy. My eyelids grew heavier with each breath I took in, and if I didn't lay down now, I felt as if I was going to pass out. I sigh, realizing how close it is to noon, and look over at Candy.
"Give purple another chance. See if anything happens. If not, we're fine. I'm just really tired. I want to sleep."
I plop myself onto the couch next to Candy, grabbing a nearby blanket and covering myself, getting comfortable enough to sleep. My eyelids close immediately as I lift a heavy arm to wave goodnight to Candy.
"You take the bed. Goodnight, Candy, sleep well."
Within seconds, I'm fast asleep, dreaming of the possibilities Purple could hold.
