258

There is a sense of calm when I wake. I relax in my comfortable room for a time before heading back into the halls, ready for our next adventure. The journey is quick, and soon I am knocking on her door. She opens it quickly, with a big smile. I am beginning to become accustomed to this cheerful greeting of hers. "I was thinking that I could take you to the small city where I live, if you'd like?" She nods excitedly and takes my hand with a squeeze. Without further ado, I lead us to the doorway that will take us to my town.

I decide to take us to the restaurant where I work. It has a cool vibe and excellent and unique food, which I'm pretty sure she's never tried. Her eyes are wide as we walk through the door, taking in the sights of the place. We sit and talk much like we did at our last meal.

After the meal we play pool in the quiet of the weekday afternoon, still talking like it's second nature. We are both bad at pool and it shows, but it doesn't take away from our enjoyment of playing. Afterward I suggest darts and we play that for a bit as well. I'm a little better at this game; she is not, but she doesn't say anything about it, so neither do I. By the time we leave, hours have flown by and it is late afternoon. 

I walk us across the train tracks toward a little coffee shop that I think she'll like. The town is quiet today, but the little foot traffic that does pass is friendly. She marvels at the old fashioned architecture; there is certainly an old timey small town feel here. The train begins crossing behind us, adding to the charm. As we walk, I recite a poem, suited for this scene. 

"Come away with me

Let my streets be called your home

Every single day

Repave broken steps

And be something all your own

Fulfilling two roles

Like these town streets walked

What once was vibrant, ghost town

Ghost town, brought to life

You are old and new

A part of you/us feels ancient

Though we have just met

These streets boldly paved

With successes and failures

Nostalgia and Noir

A black heart made bright 

A foreign tongue kissed native

A Dragon brought home

The Dragon of Love

Settling on the hilltop

Nevermore to stray 

We make our Council

Find the Eternal Echo

And plant The Tree here."

We make it to the coffee shop, and each order our drinks of choice. Her face is all smiles as she remarks about how much she is enjoying the trip so far. I decide to take her to the Candy Shoppe as well. "Hmm, Time is the oldest dimension, isn't it?" I say along the way. "It seems like it would have to be, just based off of spacing." She chimes in, though I wouldn't expect her to be an expert on time. "It is a discussion, perhaps, for another time. These keys are rarely played."

We get into the candy shop and it reminds me of another time that I went to this candy shoppe, and another chance interaction, so I ask the same question, despite the slight hint of repetition. "How long do you think it would take you to eat all this candy?" I riposte with the white cloak, wooshing away. She doesn't even respond, and we end up finding some chocolate covered gummy bears to snack upon. "This reminds me of a dream." She offers up. A poem comes to mind. 

"Cover the central corner in chocolate

Let the train tracks fall away like a dream

Without our galoshes getting wet

We'll always find our moment in the stream

When I am with you, I find myself calm

Barely an impulse remaining to write

Perhaps with candy and coffee in palm

We can find all new reasons to shine bright. 

With Eternal Euphoric Perfection 

Settling on the Way of Holiness

Even when our passageways seem most  thin

We will have nothing more than nothing less

Begin with everything unique to us 

So I'll count our extra day as plus."

We walk from there into something like a dream, into something quite like this.