life downtown
Aside from the text along the walls, there wasn't much that separated this station platform from the one I was just on, it even looked like the same few people perusing about. I walked out of the station hoping I hadn't missed my stop, and as I pushed the door open and ventured outside, I was hit with a blissful warmth. It was a great day today, wherever this was, and I kind of just wanted to sit at the benches and watch the ocean waves roll in to that delectable beep boop boop beep, bee—ahem, but I needed to find Bit first. Romero said she lives in an empty storefront, so I started a walk around the block to see if I could find anything. There was one building that had its windows blacked out, and I tried their door. It opened, and I stepped inside. "Hello? Bit?"
There was silence. I took a few more steps. "Anyone home?"
A few more. "Hello?"
By now I was practically behind the curtain in the main room. "He--"
Suddenly someone bumped into me. I looked down and saw a frail-looking old woman. "Oh, there you are!" I said, "You're Bit?"
"hmm? oh, yes, that's me, come on in."
She gestured into the back room, where a couch sat, bathed in a cold dreary light. "Mind if I turn on a light?" I asked.
"go ahead"
I flipped the switch, the room suddenly lit up searing orange. I sat on her couch, watching her step into the room behind me. I think I recognized her. "You're the witch from the money!"
"hmm? oh, no, that's my sister, it's been years since we last talked but i get that a lot"
"You talk funny, I don't know how to describe it."
"oh, you'll learn. now then, what brought you here?"
"Um, I can't remember anything, I woke up in the sand earlier today."
"that's always how the story goes," she said, "what do you have on you right now?"
I took out the picture of the cat and the wallet, and she rifled through to find anything else. "this is all too familiar" she responded.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"i mean this," she replied, stepping out of the room.
"Should I follow you?" I asked.
"no, no, it's fine, you can stay there, i'll just be a moment"
I sat in the room. It was starting to get warm, I could feel myself blushing under the heat. I leaned back into her couch a little more, placing both arms across the backrest. It felt kinda nice, but who would install heat lamps in their room? I don't think I would, though I'm not sure, all I remember is this song, beep boop... nevermind.
"no, no, continue," Bit responded from the other room.
"Pardon? Are you a mind-reader?"
"not really, but continue with the song, that might help"
The song goes beep boop boop beep... beep boop boop beep... beep boop boop boop boop... and then it repeats. All the beeps and boops are all so rhythmic, and it's so easy to just zone out and hum the song to myself. I closed my eyes. Beep boop boop beep...
"you must really like that song" she replied, now back in the same room.
"It's the only thing I woke up remembering."
"where did you first hear it? no, strike that, you said it was the only thing you remember. now, the reason i said this sounded familiar is because of this:"
Bit placed a book down on the table. afterward. The cover was just an image of the sky front to back, and the text was a teal-ish blue outlined in black. "this happened before, an amnesiac showed up here one day and she changed everything. it became a story, rather, it was a story, as with everyone else who showed up here."
"That's... that's something."
"and now you, too, are a story here. it's not complete, we're 2,138 words in so far, but your time here too is but words on a page."
"You're a bit... you're a bit of a silly old witch, aren't you?"
I couldn't see her eyes from underneath her hat, but I could feel her glare. "Sorry," I replied.
"hmm. well, what my sister would do in a moment like this is try to jog your memory. that song, have you heard it anywhere else?"
"Nope, it was just in my head, super deep, and when I think of it I start humming it, and I start relaxing and it just gets louder and louder and... and..."
"focus!"
"Ah, how long was I out?" I asked, suddenly snapping back.
"not long, a line break at most. are there any other things that happen? how does the song actually make you feel?"
"It makes me really calm and... and, like, soft and squishy? I just feel really cozy."
"but do you like the song?"
"I mean, if it has this strong of a reaction on me, I guess I like it, right?"
"...take the song out of context, just the notes... is it good or is it bad?"
"I can't really do that, sorry, it's just--"
"...how does the song go again?"
"Oh, it's... um, it's beep boop boop beep... beep boop boop beep... bee
α ɠℓเɱρรε เɳƭσ α ƒ૨εรɦ ɱเɳ∂, ɳεω ɓεɠเɳɳเɳɠร αѵσเ∂ µɳƒσ૨ƭµɳαƭε εɳ∂ร, ρεε૨ ∂εερ เɳƭσ ƭɦε ραรƭ, αɳ∂ ∂เร૮σѵε૨ α ∂เ૨ε૮ƭเσɳ ƒσ૨ ƭɦε ƒµƭµ૨ε.
i really hope that didn't hurt her. i could see the fragment of a memory now, a tiny sliver of what once was. i needed to see it, to experience it if i wanted any leads. i ventured in.
"Beep boop boop beep!" she said. all alone, in some empty white void... wait, no, wh
Suddenly I snapped out of it, and found Bit clenching her head in her hands. "Bit, are you alright?"
"that must be why she drinks so heavily... it hurts..."
"Can I get you anything?" I asked.
"i'll be fine... but you... i'm sorry, i cannot help you..."
"Why not?"
"your story... it's incomplete, it's just a hook, a scene... it's a draft"
"A draft? What does that mean?"
"you're draftware, there's nothing here but you alone forever singing that accursed song. i cannot write your story alone, i do not know you and it would surely kill me before then... but someone else can help you... i can't recall their name at the moment, you're going to have to come back, i am sorry"
"What do you mean, I'm draftware? What does that mean?"
"...It means you don't really exist!"
"Whoa, I don't--"
"I have nothing for you, I'm sorry, nobody bothered to write you a story!"
"...Can I just say? You sounded differently then, I don't--"
"...it's because i capitalized my words, i'm a bit exasperated."
"You... you what? Capitalized? But we're talking!"
"but it's text, written word, here, look."
She reached up out of this reality and brought back a piece of paper and I read near the bottom of the page of a girl who was handed a piece of paper and she was reading it and on that paper was the story of a witch who had grabbed a piece of paper for the girl to read and on it was... I handed it back. "So where did that come from?"
"that's what just happened, that's the story... your story."
"... you really are a bit of a silly old witch."
"...look, go find youself a place to stay for the night, you know where to find me, just please... i don't know what to tell you."
"Alright, well thanks for your help either way."
I reached out for a handshake, and she reciprocated, and I headed outside. The whiplash from the toasty interior of that room to the kind of breezy day outside was kind of shocking. What was it that Sheff said on the train, Green Tower is free housing? Sure, I'll start my search there. I walked down the street, passing a few different people until I came to the front of the building. I stepped in, and a strange looking figure stood at the desk. It looks like a rock hovering above an otherwise empty trenchcoat, a matching hat stuck to a post along the back wall. "Hello there," the figure said in a smooth, rich voice, "The name's Constantine, and welcome to the Green Towe--"
"For the last time: you! Do! Not! Run! THIS!" another voice exclaimed, as a man about half my height thrust a door open.
He had pale blue skin and a strange look to him, clad in a red uniform. "Here, take this!" Constantine replied as he passed me a thick book.
The blue man pushed Constantine aside, and sat at the desk. "Sorry about that," he said.
"It's fine, I got a book out of it!" I replied.
"...right. Anyways, this is the Green Tower, I take it you're here to fill a room?"
"Yes, sir, if you have one."
"We... we do not, but we do have some single tenants who requested a roommate, if you want to stay with one of them."
"Um, sure, I'll probably need some help getting around, I woke up in the sand earlier today, I don't remember anything."
"...Well then. Um, tell you what, we actually have a room in the Wilson Memorial Wing, so I'll call them up and see if they'd want a roommate. I think you two will get along just fine."
"Okay!"
He stepped away and picked up a phone, and then returned. "Alright, your room is W808, here's your key."
"Thank you! Um, I didn't catch a name."
"Flange, it's Flange. Y'know, it's odd, this all feels familiar."
"It's doesn't to me, all I remember is this song, it went beep bo—"
"That's neat, kiddo, I've got some work to do, alright?"
"Oh, sorry. Thank you Flange!"
"No problem kid."
I got to the elevator nearby, and rode the thing up to where my room was. Here I was, W808. I knocked on the door, and another of the lizard-y people opened the door. Black hair, tan complexion, and wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a hooded sweatshirt with black jeans. "Hey!" she replied.
"Hi, I'm Emmi, or Suzy, one of those two!" I replied.
"Gosh, you're tall! The name's Scriff, and... um, I don't remember much about me."
"...No way, you're also--"
"--yeah, my memory's all... all slippery!"
"Hu—oh, uh..."
She was hugging me. "Can I come inside? I guess I'm living here now, too."
"Oh, sorry. Yeah, come in, make yourself comfortable! So, I've gotta ask, what was on your mind when you woke up? All I could think about when I got up the other day was the name Peppino. Peppino, who's name is that?"
"Sounds like a pizza man," I joked.
"Yeah, for real!" she replied.
"Um, you're a little close again."
"Sorry, it's just... you're just so warm, and I really love the warmth. I've always been really huggy, it's just who I am!"
"It's not a problem, just gotta get used to it. So, eh... Scriff, have you talked to Bit?"
"Bit? Yeah, this big old guy, I forget his name, he told me to see her, I woke up on the beach the other day, and she told me I was, uh... what was the term? Like, I was a draft or something?"
"Draftware?"
"Yeah! Like, what does that mean, right? So what if my story doesn't exist yet, I can make it myself!"
"Yeah, that's a good point! How do you think it works?"
"I dunno, maybe you just imagine a story? Hey, speaking of, what do you got there?"
"Oh, this? This is something the guy at the front desk gave me!"
The cover said Constantine: Alive and Reloaded 6: Curtains for the Storyteller!, and I was really curious as to what that even means. "Should we read it together?" I asked.
"Just crack it open to like halfway through, I gotta know what even happens in this story."
I flipped open to about halfway, page 456.
"Show yourself!" Constantine shouted, his jawline slicing the cold wind in the eerie sanctuary like a knife.
Black sludge formed itself into the shape of a skeleton on the wall before becoming the shape of a face. "Well well well... you made it! You didn't fall for a single one of my traps and now you're here!"
"Can it, you foul beast! Twenty years ago you did something to our fair town, and now I'm here to finally catch you!"
Constantine's hat fluttered in a cool way. "But wait right there, you dashing rogue! You can't stop me, I write the stories now!"
"Oh yeah? Luckily I have a secret weapon!"
The incredibly handsome detective opened the messenger bag he had brought with him and out crawled a short old witch. "They'll mess you up good, like they did all those years ago!"
"...Wow, this is stupid," I said after a pause.
"This is amazing!" Scriff replied, "this guy doesn't even know what he's writing!"
"I mean, at least he's got a story," I said.
"...Oh no, are you sad?"
"I dunno, maybe just a littl--"
"Wait right there! I was at the library, and they had a book on how to take care of humans, let me see what it says. Ah, here it is, Shim's Guide to Caring For Your Human Companions, and... ah, so: 'when your human companion is sad, you might find that gentle pressure to their sides can lift their spirits', and there's this little drawing of a person all wrapped up nice and tight in a blanket. Wait just a second, okay?"
I was more just kind of speechless than anything, what was happening? Well, at least I had my mind on other things that whole time, I wasn't thinking about that little song, how did it go? Beep boop boop beep, beep boop boop b
Suddenly I shook my head, and found myself rather tightly wrapped in a fluffy blanket on the floor. "Is this too much? You kinda zoned out, I'm sorry."
Truth be told it felt nice to just be wrapped up in the blanket, but I was feeling a bit constricted. "It's just a little much."
"Oh, I'm sorry, here, let me help you up, sit down for now, alright? This any better?"
I was still neatly packed away inside the blanket, but now sitting on the couch. It was a little better, I guess? "A little."
"Alright, well, I've never actually had a human friend... um, actually, I don't think I had any friends, but I especially wanted to treat my human friends right, they're so fragile but they're so loving, so caring, they have so much compassion and empathy, you want to be extra gentle with them."
"Right. What else does that book tell you?"
"Um, there's this passage I love to read over and over again, it's just so sweet: 'Humans are very social, and it's easy to get them to feel especially chatty and talk about their lives. Many might discuss troubles they're facing, so please be patient with them and let them know that under no uncertain circumstances are they less loved for feeling that way. Humans are especially social with each other, so it might help to introduce another human to get your companion to open up. They might even begin to fall in love, and seeing a companion go from anxious to loved is truly a healing experience.' I... ooh, they're so cute!"
"Um, thanks."
"Sorry, this is probably weird to you, um..."
"I literally have no context for any of this," I replied.
"Well, um... are you hungry? I have snacks."
"What kinds of snacks?" I asked.
"Um, let me check..."
Scriff was good, though maybe a bit obsessed with people. She had a lot of heart, she cared an awful lot. Like probably how I or the person that I became used to care for that cat an awful lot. We'll figure out this weird little world together, I just know it.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
