Flammable: A Small Part of a Bigger Thing
Healmly
"Here you are" the driver said as he pulled up to a narrow street that looked long abandoned by the fast technological advancements of the other towns we’d passed. My mother thanked the cab driver along with giving him cash and I watched like a lost puppy as he drove back into the busy highway.
Besides the distant tires screeching and cars honking, Healmly was eerily quiet. Little quaint pink and white homes lined the street. All the lawns were neatly trimmed and bright green like something out of a fairy tale. My mother and I hurried down the street before it got too dark. We were told to get to the school by 12pm oddly so I could settle into my dorm.
I checked the time on my wrist watch; the black numbers read 8:30pm. The streets were empty and we didn’t encounter anyone till we entered a small pink and blue restaurant, the only restaurant, to ask for directions.
The restaurant was dark and neat. Six red tables scattered the store and each was accompanied by four pink and white chairs. The store was completely empty but for a little girl with bright red bows holding her dark hair in pigtails and eerie silver irises.
She sat in one of those chairs holding a bear twice her size in her embrace and swinging her feet which did not yet reach the floor. She smiled upon seeing us, a cold smile that sent shivers down my spine and held out her teddy.
“Mista’ teddy like mama. Girl no good, smells of magic but Mista teddy will take mama. Eat her up, yum, yum, yum.”
I glanced quickly at my mother and saw that she was sweating badly. How could a kid like this intimidate my mother, I took action into my own hands. “Do you know where Broxweln is girl?” I asked politely.
“Yes, the girl needs to come here at night, night. At midnight. She’s special, special, like me.” The girl sang.
Her voice bounced off the empty room and caught my ear drum loud and off tune.
Mother brought her hands over her ears and my eyes widened, this girl was infuriating. I opened my mouth to speak but she surges on.
“At midnight, at midnight you enter the town and our world appears. Our world is this town so there is no way for you two to get lost,” She in a matter of fact voice. “But beware our school does not let students enter freely.”
Then she disappeared, just like that. Mother shook her head in disbelief at where the little girl had just been. Fear made me sick to the stomach of this place and I wasn’t sure anymore that I even wanted to get a glance at what the girl called ‘our world’. I wanted out, out of this crazy town out of this place and back to my normal home where nothing like disappearing in thin air could possibly ever happen.
“Come on ma, let’s get a hotel in the other town and wait for midnight.” I said feigning strength when I could feel my toes trembling. I could still feel the girl’s horrible mind pulsating on the restaurant and it was so mentally disturbing I was tempted to burn the mind up.
But I stopped myself; no one deserved to turn crazy just because of my temper, though Alex is a whole other ball park. If I wanted to be accepted here in this crazy place I would have to play their game, for the time being anyway.
We ended up in a dumpy but homey little hotel room that would satisfied out needs till midnight. Time ticked away slowly so I occupied myself with reading. Zoology was a big interest to me; someday I hoped to become a vertebrate zoologist. But that seems so far away right now inside this warm shadowy hotel.
Beside since when did ‘magical people’ ever get normal jobs? Maybe I would become like superman, only a girl. That didn’t please me one bit thought. It would be tiring having to save people every day and not getting a minute to yourself.
There was so much crime these days that if I was superman I would be overwhelmed, that and the fact that the bad guys would beat my butt every time. It was about 11:30 when I got up my butt and stretched. My mother looked at me with her eyebrows raised.
“I’m going now,” I explained. “Things might get out of control so you should stay here.”
“Honey you know I won’t let you go out there all alone in the middle of the night. Even if that place is abandoned you have to think about what type of people are roaming about right now.”
“But ma-aa-aa.” I whined giving her name three syllables.
“Okay honey, I’ll stick with you till we get to the town again then I’m leaving.”
I squinted at her and saw that she wouldn’t change anything else and sighed. It would be less painful to just drop it now.
I grabbed my coat and scarf and donned them on. “Let’s go ma, I don’t want to be late.” I wondered briefly what had changed my mind so suddenly. Mother coughed and bundled her self snuggly.
“How did the temperature change so drastically?” She muttered.
“It’s April, what’s there to expect. The temperature moves like we should be doing right now.” I shivered as a cool breeze came in from outside the window. I open the door and step out into the dark hall of the hotel.
“I’m coming honey, go on without me to the car we rented.”
I nodded grimly and trumped out the hotel whistling softly. The light brush of pink and gold was streaked across the dark horizon. It looked so beautiful and I gazed longingly at the expanse of sky longing like I’d always before to join the lofty vibrant horizon, but it was well beyond me reach.
My fingers began to numb slowly as time ticked by and soon I was tapping my feet impatiently against ground. When my mother did come out the hotel my fingers indeed felt like they were frozen.
“Stop being such a child.” Ma replied hastily when I’d told her of the numbness. “I’ll turn on the heater okay?”
I pouted but said nothing and slumped down into the seat while the empty blackness passed away in a blur. 11:45, the dutiful watch told me. I let my tension roll off; probably I would be wrong I thought. When I get there I’ll probably see the same old town with the same old boringness. Yes, that was it, the girl had tricked us into believe-. My eyes bulged and I leaned toward the window in wonderment.
There was a stretch of green lawn that seemed to go on forever, and behind a large ivory gate was it, the school building. It looked antique, the brown and beige sandstones and the grand set of wide marble steps leading to the double front doors.
The lamps reflected rays of light, lighting up the grandeur of the building. It seemed to be three storeys high, but behind it stood more levels and towers. It was a castle. It loomed elegantly and a mysterious aura seemed to coat the building. I had always loved mysteries but the castle looked a bit to much for her.
“Shit-“ The car stopped suddenly, “Honey you’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”
“It’s okay, I’m sure it’s working perfectly fine but the castle doesn’t want it near it.”
“Castle, reminds me of something.” Her eyes went foggy.
“I’ve got to go now ma. I don’t want to be late. It pains me to be.” And with that I stepped out the car and waved as she drove off.
Besides the distant tires screeching and cars honking, Healmly was eerily quiet. Little quaint pink and white homes lined the street. All the lawns were neatly trimmed and bright green like something out of a fairy tale. My mother and I hurried down the street before it got too dark. We were told to get to the school by 12pm oddly so I could settle into my dorm.
I checked the time on my wrist watch; the black numbers read 8:30pm. The streets were empty and we didn’t encounter anyone till we entered a small pink and blue restaurant, the only restaurant, to ask for directions.
The restaurant was dark and neat. Six red tables scattered the store and each was accompanied by four pink and white chairs. The store was completely empty but for a little girl with bright red bows holding her dark hair in pigtails and eerie silver irises.
She sat in one of those chairs holding a bear twice her size in her embrace and swinging her feet which did not yet reach the floor. She smiled upon seeing us, a cold smile that sent shivers down my spine and held out her teddy.
“Mista’ teddy like mama. Girl no good, smells of magic but Mista teddy will take mama. Eat her up, yum, yum, yum.”
I glanced quickly at my mother and saw that she was sweating badly. How could a kid like this intimidate my mother, I took action into my own hands. “Do you know where Broxweln is girl?” I asked politely.
“Yes, the girl needs to come here at night, night. At midnight. She’s special, special, like me.” The girl sang.
Her voice bounced off the empty room and caught my ear drum loud and off tune.
Mother brought her hands over her ears and my eyes widened, this girl was infuriating. I opened my mouth to speak but she surges on.
“At midnight, at midnight you enter the town and our world appears. Our world is this town so there is no way for you two to get lost,” She in a matter of fact voice. “But beware our school does not let students enter freely.”
Then she disappeared, just like that. Mother shook her head in disbelief at where the little girl had just been. Fear made me sick to the stomach of this place and I wasn’t sure anymore that I even wanted to get a glance at what the girl called ‘our world’. I wanted out, out of this crazy town out of this place and back to my normal home where nothing like disappearing in thin air could possibly ever happen.
“Come on ma, let’s get a hotel in the other town and wait for midnight.” I said feigning strength when I could feel my toes trembling. I could still feel the girl’s horrible mind pulsating on the restaurant and it was so mentally disturbing I was tempted to burn the mind up.
But I stopped myself; no one deserved to turn crazy just because of my temper, though Alex is a whole other ball park. If I wanted to be accepted here in this crazy place I would have to play their game, for the time being anyway.
We ended up in a dumpy but homey little hotel room that would satisfied out needs till midnight. Time ticked away slowly so I occupied myself with reading. Zoology was a big interest to me; someday I hoped to become a vertebrate zoologist. But that seems so far away right now inside this warm shadowy hotel.
Beside since when did ‘magical people’ ever get normal jobs? Maybe I would become like superman, only a girl. That didn’t please me one bit thought. It would be tiring having to save people every day and not getting a minute to yourself.
There was so much crime these days that if I was superman I would be overwhelmed, that and the fact that the bad guys would beat my butt every time. It was about 11:30 when I got up my butt and stretched. My mother looked at me with her eyebrows raised.
“I’m going now,” I explained. “Things might get out of control so you should stay here.”
“Honey you know I won’t let you go out there all alone in the middle of the night. Even if that place is abandoned you have to think about what type of people are roaming about right now.”
“But ma-aa-aa.” I whined giving her name three syllables.
“Okay honey, I’ll stick with you till we get to the town again then I’m leaving.”
I squinted at her and saw that she wouldn’t change anything else and sighed. It would be less painful to just drop it now.
I grabbed my coat and scarf and donned them on. “Let’s go ma, I don’t want to be late.” I wondered briefly what had changed my mind so suddenly. Mother coughed and bundled her self snuggly.
“How did the temperature change so drastically?” She muttered.
“It’s April, what’s there to expect. The temperature moves like we should be doing right now.” I shivered as a cool breeze came in from outside the window. I open the door and step out into the dark hall of the hotel.
“I’m coming honey, go on without me to the car we rented.”
I nodded grimly and trumped out the hotel whistling softly. The light brush of pink and gold was streaked across the dark horizon. It looked so beautiful and I gazed longingly at the expanse of sky longing like I’d always before to join the lofty vibrant horizon, but it was well beyond me reach.
My fingers began to numb slowly as time ticked by and soon I was tapping my feet impatiently against ground. When my mother did come out the hotel my fingers indeed felt like they were frozen.
“Stop being such a child.” Ma replied hastily when I’d told her of the numbness. “I’ll turn on the heater okay?”
I pouted but said nothing and slumped down into the seat while the empty blackness passed away in a blur. 11:45, the dutiful watch told me. I let my tension roll off; probably I would be wrong I thought. When I get there I’ll probably see the same old town with the same old boringness. Yes, that was it, the girl had tricked us into believe-. My eyes bulged and I leaned toward the window in wonderment.
There was a stretch of green lawn that seemed to go on forever, and behind a large ivory gate was it, the school building. It looked antique, the brown and beige sandstones and the grand set of wide marble steps leading to the double front doors.
The lamps reflected rays of light, lighting up the grandeur of the building. It seemed to be three storeys high, but behind it stood more levels and towers. It was a castle. It loomed elegantly and a mysterious aura seemed to coat the building. I had always loved mysteries but the castle looked a bit to much for her.
“Shit-“ The car stopped suddenly, “Honey you’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”
“It’s okay, I’m sure it’s working perfectly fine but the castle doesn’t want it near it.”
“Castle, reminds me of something.” Her eyes went foggy.
“I’ve got to go now ma. I don’t want to be late. It pains me to be.” And with that I stepped out the car and waved as she drove off.
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