After the Party

Chapter Six

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After many hours in this damn van, we are finally in California. We want to stay in San Francisco, so we drove straight there with a 6 hour power nap half way through. We stopped in this weird parking lot for campers and vans, it was hardly lit by three street lights. One singular, freaky white van was parked at the far east end. It gave me the creeps. We stayed as far away as we could. Jameson and I laid in the bed and listened to music.

It was odd how comfortable we've grown with each other. Not saying we weren't before but now we can do stuff like lay in a van at 3 AM and listen to shitty music in complete silence. It makes me a little scared to be honest. I know what it's like to get attached to someone so much that it crushes you when something goes wrong. It honestly feels like he is a part of me now more than ever before but if this trip is teaching me one things, it's that I need to let things happen and not try to control everything. I'm going to just let things play out as they want to play out.

We woke up 6 hours later, stepped outside only to see the sketchy white van with its back doors wide open. Clothes, shoes, bags, and other random things thrown left and right around the car. we collectively decided that was the sign to get the hell out of there. We were too shook up to pull off to pee so we held it till we got to a gas station. Best.Pee.Ever. we grabbed some breakfast like snacks and got back on the road.

As we kept driving we talked a lot. About a lot of random things. Somethings got deep, and some were just stupid jokes, but it was fun. I've come to find that driving is really relaxing. Even if I give Jameson the wrong directions and we get kind of lost it's relaxing to just look out and see things speeding past even if life feels really slow. Like in a space ship going slow but stars and planets go at light speed all around. Parting only for me to pass. Almost like they know I need to keeping going even if I don't know why yet. It makes me smile sometimes to think about how fast we are going when everyone at home is going at a normal pace. It's like I'm ahead of them all, leaving them in the rear-view mirror. It's exhilarating.

We are in San Fran now and all I can say is, damn. Its packed with people, not just people but crazy people. I love the vibes and the aura of the city.

We found a place on this hill that looks straight at the Golden Gate Bridge, so we are thinking of sleeping there for a night or two. We are gonna go in the city and see what there is to do. All I can think about is how bad I want food.

We have been walking around for a few hours on the streets and found some really cool stores. Jameson found a funky shop and wants to check it out. We have to walk down a strange little stare well, big enough for only single fill. As we open the old wood door it smells like lavender, sage, old books, and weed. At first glance I see the walls are covered in tapestries and posters of stars or goddesses. It's lit by string lights around all the walls. I haven't even been in yet and I can see the room can't be bigger than a high school classroom, so the lights do a good job of lighting up the place. It also looks like candles are lit around the room. We step through the door way on to a rickety, worn wood floor that creaks with every step. Right when we walk in the register is to our right, so I look for a worker, but no one seems to be around.

Jameson whispers, "I'm sure someone is around. Let's take a look and see what's here."

I don't say anything back, I just follow close behind as we look around. The more I look, the more I see weird shit like dolls with no head or a teddy bear with a hole in its chest. There are books about witch spells, crystals, a book titled, A Day in the Life of a Demon Summoner. That one is by far my favorite, I think I want it. There is crystals and sage everywhere. Jameson and I are looking a stack of bright pink and purple bones when a voice scares the hell out of the both of us. I turn around and see what I would say is, a real-life witch. A lady in her mid-forties is standing behind the front counter. her skin is so pale it's almost like she blends in with the white curtains behind her. Her hair is dark black at the top and about half way down fades to a gray color. Its 80's hair, big, curly, and all over the place. Her face is actually pretty, and her features are small as well as her body. Very tiny, almost frail. There is something off about her though, she stands there and stares at us for a moment before Jameson asks something that my mind doesn't seems to catch. She just smiles and sits down in a huge 1800's like arm chair and hums a little tune. At this moment I get a weird vibe and really wanna leave but Jameson keeps looking around. He grabs a few crystals and a thing of sage, along with a tapestry of a sun and a moon. The sun in the bottom left corner and a crescent moon in the top right corner with stars and Greek writing along the sides and in the middle. We walk up to the counter and he puts his things downs as the women points her long bony fingers at each item and says a number out loud. Her finger nails are long and painted black but chipping around the edges. Before she starts putting it all in her old cash register that I swear is from 1910, she is looking at me dead in my eye. In the most raspy voice I have ever heard she starts to say something, "Are you going to pay for the book young lady or do you plan on summoning a demon for free?" confused and scared I can't seem to say anything until I look down and see I have a book in my hands. I set it on the counter and apologize and look down. I can feel Jameson's hand grab mine.