[Rosemary] Down the Rabbit Hole

[Arauchia]

WEARING

The elevator dinged and opened its doors to the lobby, revealing the light flurries drifting on the breeze as it whipped past the front door of her Larch Court town house. As Arauchia stepped out of the elevator, she paused to zip up her fleece lined moto jacket with a hint of a sigh. Winter here lasted from October to nearly May, and every fiber of her being resisted being acclimated to it. No – she would merely tolerate the howling wind, subzero temps and snow drifts. It merely made her long for the sunny beaches of Seville even more. She hadn’t even seen snow until she was in her early twenties; it simply just didn’t snow in south Spain. And the one time it did while she was alive? Provincial holiday.

A brief nod was given to the security guy working the desk as she pushed open the door and headed outside. Chia was usually a late riser, but out of necessity, she got up just after dusk. She was scheduled to bounce from midnight to close at Serpentine, but before that she needed to run a few errands on her mentor’s behalf. She was hoping if she went and made her deliveries and pick ups early, she might get to study for a couple hours before clocking in at bar.

Chia headed west to catch the train at Swansdale to make the quick trek to Newbourough. That neck of the woods, despite its seedy nature, felt the most like home. Perhaps it was the Italian mafiosos playing craps in the alley or the unabashed bribery that allowed the black market to operate in plain sight. But no matter the way you sliced it, it was no different then the docks in Seville where goods were smuggled in and out with the assistance of the dockers that worked at the Port. Her fingers reached into her pocket as she waited for the train to retrieve her cell phone. Her foot started to tap as she quickly composed a text to her contact at the tavern she was heading to as it was made painfully clear last time she shouldn’t show up unannounced.

Wit that formality out of the way, the phone in her hands was stowed in the interior pocket of her jacket and replaced with a menthol cigarette and a lighter. There was about 10 minutes until the train would arrive, so she might as well do something to combat the wind billowing over the train station platform. A flick of the thumb caused the end of the smoke to come alive. Chia inhaled deeply, enjoying the hot smoke displacing the cold air out of her lungs as she waited quietly at the end of the platform.

[Rosemary]

Silhouetted buildings, street lamps and billboards faded from thickly outlined black shapes to one, large mass of darkness in the matter of minutes. The shuttle sped through tunnels dotted periodically with fluorescent, orange lights that lit up passengers faces for short seconds before finally emerging victorious in the cool, open air. It was night and all at once. The sun left and was replaced by the glow of the pale moonlight. With every dip and every bump the train hit, the moon dared to shine and reflect off of Rosemary’s equally pale skin.

When she was a child, living at her family’s farm home in Norway, her mother would tell her stories of the moon’s jealousy. Of course, being as precocious as any six year old could be, she laughed, never once thinking there could be actual consequences.

Rosemary, ever adventurous and determined to listen to her own intuition (Even before she understood the meaning of the word, before she even knew there was a word in her language for the feeling.) would go out at night when she was supposed to be tightly tucked in her bed. The fresh air called to her; the sweet scent of nearby meadow flowers begged to see her, even though they’d just spent the afternoon in make-believe. And as natural as that was to her, so was the bright, ever-present glow of the moon. Full, New, Crescent, Waning, Blood, Blue—they were all welcome, as long as they continued to light her path through the meadow and down to the banks of the river.

Well before she felt the jerk and jolt of the speeding train coming to a stop, she heard the sharp screech from the breaks. They were nearing the Swansdale Station, and from there, the train would take her and the rest of the passengers to Newborough, up through Stag Heath, to Coastside and finally to Westwall where her hotel room waited. Her day was long, but her determination was relentless.

Nearly a month ago, she arrived on good faith in Harper Rock, but had yet to determine why her Goddess wanted her there. Every night, she sat in front of her make-shift altar and prayed to Freya, Goddess of Love, Goddess of Beauty, Divine Völva. She lit candles in her honor and left gifts of beauty, pleasure, and magick, but still, she had no answer. She knew nothing more than to be in Harper Rock, and even then, her faith began to wane just as the moon above her.

Finally, the train came to a complete stop, but Rosemary didn’t move. She continued to gaze out of her window, eyes glazed and her mind elsewhere. Around her, people stood up and waited their turn to depart and be on their way, but as soon as they left, their spots filled back up with someone else. Outside, the mechanics and machinery wheezed and whined. Sometimes the built-in seats would groan when someone left or someone sat down, but nothing pulled her attention from her follies and misfortune. Why couldn’t she figure it out? And why was it so difficult to find a good metaphysical store for her to stock up on supplies? She needed herbs, she needed oils, but most importantly, she needed a job. Especially if she was determined to stay and see this through.

[Arauchia]

As the train screeched to a stop, Chia took a few steps forward, toes resting on the yellow safety paint along the edge of the platform. Her foot tapped somewhat impatiently as she waited for the passengers to spill out of the car and onto the platform. As the last person lollygagged in the doorway, Chia pushed past him and entered the train car. Violet eyes glanced around as she moved along, looking for a seat to occupy for the next fifteen minutes.

The people in the car were the usual suspects. Banker on his way home to his wife and two sons. A police officer heading to his second shift as a security guard at the mall. A lady that worked as a teacher by day and waited tables at night. An elderly woman heading home after visiting her ailing husband at the nursing home. She too was on her regular routine of heading to grab a bite on her way to her first job as working around humans when she was starving was a terrible idea.

The door closing chime sounded just as her eyes picked up on what appeared to be a new face. A very pretty one at that too. Her skin was pale as ivory; like she had been living in the moon light for years. Pale blonde hair stood out like a halo around her head. A sly smile crept across her pale pink lips, as she closed the distance between her and this newcomer to the after-work train route. She stopped next to the empty aisle seat next to the unfamiliar face, before gently clearing her throat.

“May I join you?” Chia asked of the woman, her English heavily accented by the smooth undertones of her native Spanish tongue.