The forgotten World

23. Return to the Hedge

After Niv-Mizzet, Melek and Ral spoke for a while they decided they were not going to give the new guy a job request just yet, but they did decide to send me back to the hedge to pick one, so before I knew it, I was walking past the Lancer Head Quarters again, this time there was some random guy with a floating cube floating around him, I presumed him to be a lancer out of uniform like Alex was that time I saw him when I was here last. Soon enough I found myself back at the Sky Hedge City Train Station or SHCTS as it should have said but someone with no imagination had painted over parts of the letters so it read SHITS with the ‘I’ having a slight curve. I was just entering the building when a couple of people with ladders and paint cans walked past me, it was good to know that Upper City had a fast clean up response so much unlike what Lower City seemed to have. I boarded the train. Admiring its red polished timber before it became a thing of illusions. I paused for a second, how many ghost Trains are there? I asked myself and looking out the window at the same time in an attempt to answer my own question, I could see five other tracks but no other train. I shrugged figuring that one must be at The Hedge; two must be one third their way to their destination and the other two being two thirds their way to their destination. It seemed logical enough. And just as logic would have it the train I was on departed as soon as the next one arrived.

I went up to the stairs again this time to watch the train turn into the white smoke. I saw the front of the train turn smoky white again. Then watched as the rest of the train turned to white smoke again, it was beautiful, it was like dropping a stick on a think spider web, the spider web folding over the stick and the stick taking the spider web from its spot. It didn’t have the wave effect it had when it came off the train, but going on looked just as impressive. I just hoped no-one asks me to describe it. I walked back down the ghost stairs and returned to my seat and let the train do its thing. Before long I was being awoken by voices and as a looked around I realised we were back at The Hedge.

I picked up my bag and got off the train. Opened my note book looking for the list of people I had to thank for various things, then I made thanking everyone on the list my target for the rest of the day. The sun was starting to set by the time I had found everyone, even in such a community as this was, finding someone was not easy, and then I would find myself explaining what I went off and did for the request. After that I finally found myself relaxing, I looked around at who was sitting around me, I spotted Link and Zelda talking at the nearest table, Optimus Prime, Lego Batman, The Arbiter and Miku at the furthest table. With a huge range of other people I knew and even more I didn’t know between them. I paused and thought that if this many people can be here and here is smaller than Sky Hope City, how many are in Sky hope City.

After I had filled my stomach I went looking for that motel again, and as soon as I stepped into the room I made my way to the shower, the shower I had took a lot longer than necessary but it was thoroughly enjoyable, the shower head was bigger than normal and the hot water system didn’t falter. After the shower I found myself lying on the bed staring at the ceiling pondering what I want to do for my next mission. I didn’t realize the time until the sun hit me in the face though the crack in the curtains, I had fallen asleep while I was lying on top of the bed, I sat up and opened the curtains just to be sure I was not tricking myself thinking the sunset was a sunrise and sure enough it was a sunrise.

I made myself a cup of tea without using the kettle; I wanted to see how useful fire magic could be, turns out you should not heat the cup to heat the water, it does not do your fingers and good when you pick it up then spontaneously drop it breaking the cup and spilling your tea all over the tea, coffee and sugar sachets. If there is one thing you don’t want to do in a motel, its ruin the rooms stock of tea, coffee and sugar, and then you got nothing to drink other than water for the rest of your stay.

I decided I would go pick a request and head off. I made my way to the room, this time when I walked in the lights were on, and everything seemed to be tidier, like they had deliberately gone and made the room a mess on my first time just for me, I made a mental note to ask them latter, but for now it was request hunting time. After about what felt like forever I finally found a request that I liked the look of. When I walked back outside I looked at the clock nine o’clock on the dot, I doubt I could ever do that again, I made my way back to the motel to collect my bag and as the same time I heard a train arrive, I bolted to the room, grabbed my bag, threw the key in the key return and ran for the train, the doors closes seconds after I was in.