Chapter Twenty-One

“Are you okay?” Luke asked. “You seem a bit off. A little huffy if you ask me.”
“Yeah? Well, I’m not asking you,” I said as I walked ahead of Luke on the streets of this odd little town. It looked normal when you took a good, close look around it. But something felt weird, something felt off.
“Jeez, what’s wrong with you? See, this is why I don’t make emotional connections with women.”
I turned around to face him. “No, Lucas, this is why you don’t BREAK emotional connections with woman.” I turned back around and stomped off away from him.
“What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Honestly, Luke, just leave me alone for right now. I need some time to think to myself.”
“Oh, so first you don’t want me to be alone, and now you want to go be alone? Fine, then, go ahead! Be alone! What do I care?”
I took a deep breath to prevent myself from screaming, and then walked away in a giant huff, not looking back at him.
“But be careful! Remember, I’ve never ben here before, so I have no idea what could possibly be around! It’s not safe to wander an unknown dimension by yourself!”
I turned around again and screamed a few swear words at him. “I will go wherever I damn please, and you don’t have to worry about my safety, Lucas, because I can take care of myself plenty, I don’t need you to trail me all the time! Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be back, but for God’s sake, Lucas, you have to learn when to shut the fuck up!”
I went back to my huffed exit, and turned a corner so Luke was no longer in sight of me nor was I in sight of him.
As I continued on in my angry huff, I noticed that the roads and total empty: that was probably what was causing this really weird, empty feeling that the whole town seemed to have. Was this a ghost town? How come there weren’t any people? I looked around to observe my surroundings even more and only just realized that the houses weren’t built straight up. In fact, it almost felt like I was taking drugs or something because the houses seemed as if the straight lines that made up their edges were all squigly and weird, like some little four year old attempted to draw a straight line. And not only were they all weirdly shaped, but they were also huge. And on top of that, every brick that made the house was a different color, a bright, neon like color, that made the houses almost painful to look at. I began to wonder what sort of people could possibly be living in these houses. Some extremely weird people who were on drugs when they decided to make this? I came to the conclusion that the architect was definitely on something when he came up with these building plans, and that once the town realized what these houses looked like, they decided to just leave because they were so horrifyingly ugly and bright and disgusting.
I also only realized that I was incredibly thirsty. That chocolate cake I had eaten really didn’t do much for wetting my mouth. I also came to the conclusion that if anone were possibly living in one of these houses, they would be kind enough to give a thirsty girl a drink of water. I just hoped that this was not a ghost town like I thought it was. And I most definitely did not want to go back to Luke and beg him for water.
I knocked on the door of the nearest house. No one answered, and I heard nothing. “Hello?” I called. “Is anyone there?” Silence.
I felt a bit ashamed at this failed attempt, that I really didn’t want to be around this house anymore. I went to the next house and tried the same thing. I knocked. “Is anyone at home? I’m not a robber or anything. I’d just like some water, that’s all. And I’m not homeless, I swear, I’m just alone and thirsty.” Still no response.
“Maybe there really isn’t anyone around.”
I decided to try one more house before giving up and going back to Luke. So I went to the third house, and though it looked identical, I expected different results.
I knocked on the door for the first time. “Hello? Is anyone there?” And as I hit my knuckle against the door for the fifth time, the door simply opened. I assumed it was unlocked or something. “Oh, I’m sorry for opening your door.” I stepped into the doorway. “Is anyone here?”
Inside the house, all the furniture seemed really large. And oddly colorful. Each piece of furniture was a different brightly colored color, and looked as odd and abstract as something you would find in a modern arts museum.
I then assumed that the whole town was deserted. And if this town was deserted for the amount of time proportional to the amount of dust that had collected on the furniture, I figured it would be all right to go inside this house just for a cup of water.
The whole house was completely empty of life. Not even bugs or mice or anything, really. As I went into the deserted kitchen, I was reminded of that one time where I had a rat in my kitchen. It would always run around and steal food. I rememeber how upset and angry my mum was about that. Boy, she really let it all out on the exterminator for not being able to get rid of it. I thought it was kind of cute, though, and I would secretly leave pieces of food on the floors of the kitchens so that the rat would always have something to eat if my mum decided to lock up our pantry. And then, standing there in that deserted kitchen, it sort of reminded me of home. Not really the psychedelic furniture or the abstract design, choices, but the emptiness. The loneliness. The fact that even though there was a world of colors and beautiful things around me, I was stuck there, sipping water
And then I remembered what Luke wrote in his journal. Abut being alone. About not making emotional connections with people.
I put the rainbow cup down near the sink that could have been large enough to be my bath tub. “I should really get back to him.”
I left the house and closed the door behind me.
And then I blacked out.