Perditiones Part 2

As Ed begins to explain to me about what is going on, I slow my eating. I slowly pick up and start on the second half of my tuna melt. Now that my stomach isn’t so talkative. I finally take a long hard look at Ed. He is wearing a mechanics outfit, one of those warn blue jumpers. It is covered in a thin layer of the yellow dust that seems to be everywhere outside here. Now that I take a moment to actually scan the café it was much more like a diner, just like Rose said. It has the bar front with stools and plenty of booth seating. The red of the stools and booth seats appear to be freshly polished and the floors, black and white checker board, have a gleaming shimmer as if newly washed. Rose, still over by the bar counter is humming away to herself now that the music from the jukebox ended. She was swaying a little, almost as if trying to hide the fact that she wants to dance around the diner floor. It made me smile inside. I turn back to Ed, and see him starting to dig through the large lumpy sack he brought in as he continues to talk. He starts to pull out clothing, but it seems he is intent on finding something specific.

“Perditiones is a small town, kind of an in-between. Unfortunately, the bus has broken down and I will need a day or so to get it repaired. I hope you don’t mind the delay in our trip”, he says as he continues to dig in the large sack.

Just then Ed pulls out a long scarf. It is pale blue and looks oddly familiar. It has a white embroidery on it and definitely seems well-used. I can’t shake the feeling that I have seen that scarf before. Ed hands the scarf to me.

“You’ll need this, this town can get quite cold, without warning. Today happened to be a nice spring day, but tomorrow it may be snowing. You never can tell” he says with a slight chuckle, as if this were an entertaining fact.

I take the scarf from him and lay it on the booth next to me. I take a big gulp of my chocolate milkshake, that was now slightly melted and perfect for giving you a pain in your head if you drink it too fast. Ugh, brain freeze. Which I quickly did to myself as I was now fixated on Ed, waiting for his next words.

“Are you remembering anything yet, Amy? Are you feeling well? I know sometimes the journey can take a lot out of you” he says in a concerned tone, brow creasing.

I swallow my milkshake and winced at the sharp pain above my brow. “Remember anything? No, not really. I just remember waking up at the back of the bus. Last thing I remember, I was on my way to work and then I woke up here. Or was I on my way to work? Where are we going? You keep mentioning a stop in our journey.”

“Ah, yes, our journey to the rather large mountain further down the way. No doubt you saw it outside. Rather large and domineering, but it is really not all that frightening. The mountain holds beauty as well, if you are open to seeing it, that is. We will be here for a day or so and I encourage you to mingle with the towns people. They are all good people and can help you to remember. They have helped people in the past as well. Then, hopefully, our little journey can continue.” Ed’s eyes look at me warmly. Once again, it reminds me of something. His eyes look vaguely familiar, but how? Maybe I am just tired.

Rose strides over with Ed’s cheeseburger, fries, and a strawberry shake. Ed nods, Rose winks back at him, and Ed begins to eat rather quietly and patiently. The exact opposite of my indulgence in this meal. I guess there is no need to rush here, but I had already finished my sandwich and fries. I was now slowly sipping on my chocolate shake, having learned my lesson.

I thought about everything that Ed said while I was eating and took a glance at the scarf he had handed me. The weather changes from day to day. That will be interesting, having lived in many places throughout my life, most of them pretty warm or glaringly hot throughout the year. The idea of snow happening out of nowhere made me a little excited, as if I were a child again. This thought made me remember my age, I remembered a small get together of close friends and I saw a split-second of a small birthday cake in my minds eye. I am 29? At least that is the more recent memory I have regarding any kind of age. So, 29, and on my way to work, why can’t I remember how I ended up here.

Although, I can’t seem to remember any details, I also don’t seem to have my normal sense of constant worry. I feel extremely comfortable in this town and I have no idea why. Ed watches me from across the table. I think he is trying to decipher what I am thinking about.

“So, Ed, how long have you been “the driver” of that bus? How many people like me have you taken on this journey?” I ask making air quotes with my hands to emphasize his apparent job title.

“Hmm… come to think of it, only for a bit. You are my first real passenger, at least one headed all the way to the mountain and not just to Perditiones. I apologize for the delay in our trip, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason. Would you agree?” Ed says with a sly smirk.

“I suppose so. So what do I do now?” I ask while I take my last sip of the shake that was left in the metal tin. Rose was right, no point in letting the extra go to waste.

“Well, like I said, enjoy your stay while you are here. Lots of good people in this town to meet. Maybe you can be of some help to them. Many times, memories can be triggered by helping others. It does good for the soul at least.” Ed finishes the last bite of his burger and licks his fingers clean of mustard.

“Where am I staying for the night?” I ask as I look out the window to find it has gotten dark while we were eating.

Rose comes over to present the bill to Ed. “You can find a room with the little Inn across the way. Its above the general store, right next to the tailor shoppe. Stella is a lovely lady, she will be happy to make you as comfortable as possible. Especially since you are just passing through”, Rose says with an overly cheerful tone.

“Well, okay then.” I pause, and grab the blue scarf as I get out of the booth. I pause feeling the weight of the weird coins Ed had given me jingle in my pocket. “Do you need these for the bill?”, I ask and offer a few in my hand to Ed.

“Not to worry. I’ve got this bill. My treat. You will need a couple for your stay tonight at the Inn.” He emphasized by holding a hand up in protest. 

“Do I have any clothes? I just realized I don’t have anything. My purse is gone, no cell phone, did I misplace it? Or is it still on the bus?” I say, with the slight panic in my voice obvious to Ed.

“You didn’t bring anything with you on this journey. No need to really. It is okay, Stella will make sure you have fresh clothes to wear in the morning.” Ed gestures to the building across the way.

Suddenly, I feel exceedingly tired, as if I had not taken a nap on the school bus just a couple hours ago. Maybe its the yellow of the air? Or maybe its just that my head is now pounding as though I have been awake for weeks straight.

“You will get use to it here. I bet you will be right as rain in the morning. Look at this as a small vacation before we hit the road again.” Ed states reassuringly.

I can’t help but immediately trust Ed. Something about him almost feels like home.

“Will you be joining me at the Inn? I am sure they have more than one room. And in the morning, I am sure I will have a million more questions for you.” I say in an attempt to not be rude and hastily exit the diner. Plus, I am a little weary of staying in a place I don’t know without any memory. Ed is the only one I sort of know here.

Ed looks at me with those warm eyes, obviously able to sense my hesitation. “Of course, I will just pay this bill and be over shortly. Tell Stella I will be over in a moment. I am sure she will be happy to have guests. I warn you though, Stella is quite the character” Ed says with a loud chuckle. Rose joins in as well and gives Ed a friendly slap on the shoulder.

“Pay her no mind. She can be a little, how do you say, absent-minded. She means no harm though. You may just have to remind her to get back on target sometimes”, Rose stated, quite matter of factually. I nod and head to the door, giving a kind wave to Rose who returns it with a smile.

I leave the diner and head across the way to the Inn. The general store below it, is so quaint, it looks like it is cut from a picture of the perfect tiny mountain town. I remind myself to visit it first thing in the morning. I wonder if they have fresh honey? I use to enjoy fresh honey. I remembered something, I love honey and the smell of it. Did I use to live close to a honey bee farm? Wait, what am I – a cartoon character bear? I sigh to myself as I finish crossing the road.

I walk up the stairs around the side of the general store and past the sign simply stating “Stella’s Inn”. When I open the door, a bell jingles announcing my arrival. A thin woman, about 50 years in age, whirls around from behind the front desk area, and smiles with a very large welcoming grin clasping her hands together in front of her.

“A guest! Finally, a guest! Oh it has been such a long time, but I make sure to keep the rooms freshly changed and cleaned. You won’t find a better place to stay while in Perditiones, I promise you darlin’. Please, come, come… I will get you all settled in and make sure you have some nice chamomile tea before bed.” Stella waives me toward her as she looks for something under the counter, she pulls out a large ledger. Opens it to a specific page and asks me to sign my name. The ledger is old, and has a slight layer of the yellow dust of this town on it. Stella blows on it to get some of it off, but it has tainted the color of the book, making it appear almost orange on the outside.

I approached the counter and begin to sign the book, but I pause. What is my last name? My concern at this thought must have shown on my face. “First name, is fine dear. We all go by first names here” Stella said with a kind and relaxed smile. I sign my name, Amy, and put a smiley face next to the section for last name. Everyone in this town appears to be full of smiles. I chuckle slightly to myself, finding it a fitting  addition to the old ledger.

Stella swoops around from behind the counter gesturing for me to follow her up the hallway. I follow and look around as we walk. For being so old, the Inn is still decorated quite cheerfully. Bright colors and a lovely little kitchen tucked behind one of the doors we pass. It smells delicious in the hallway, already making me look forward to breakfast. How on earth I was still hungry? Surprised myself that I still felt like I could eat more. How on earth indeed.

Stella opens the door to what appears to be my room and gestures for me to enter. The room is quaint, but the bed must be at least a queen size, allowing for little space to walk around the sides of the bed. Probably too large of a bet for the room size, but I like it. I can’t pinpoint exactly why, but I like this room.

“Breakfast is at 8 and oh, you will need this” Stella hands me the key to the room. “The bathroom is just across the hall and you will find fresh towels in the closet. I have some clean clothes for you in there too. I keep a range of sizes just in case. Pick out whatever you like, on the house, per say” Stella says chuckling to herself, as if there is an inside joke I don’t know about. I look at her, my eye brow raised. 

Stella spins around quickly to leave. She moves very swiftly, as if there is no time to lose. Much the opposite of everyone else I have met so far in this town. I have no idea what she is in such a hurry for, but then I remember that Ed wanted me to let her know he was coming over to stay as well. Then I hear the front door bell jingle again. Stella looks over her shoulder at me, waives and shuts the door. I can hear her footsteps swiftly gliding down the hallway. I have never seen someone move the way she does. So graceful and purposeful. She doesn’t seem so absent-minded to me, at least not yet.

I instantly feel so incredibly tired, my eyes want to shut on their own. I lay down on the bed, not even bothering to change. Next thing I know, it is morning, but not like an average morning. No birds chirping and no smell of coffee to wake me up. It was extremely quite. Too quite.

(To be continued)