Rosa Rubicundior

chapter I

chapter I

latrunculus

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You'd think that opening a crimson door with a deep blue doorhandle in the centre (a wild guess, perhaps it was actually closer to the right) of absolute nothingness would be a little special. Like, if you opened the door, there would be a blinding flash of light, and all of a sudden you're in heaven. That's how I always imagined anywhere Rosa would take me. But she's not a door, and soulless objects like doors don't take you to heaven. 

They just unobstruct a path to what may or may not be heaven.

They open and close, as doors do. Rosa's door was no different. It took me to a plain grassy field, with a grey sky and slight breeze. There was a river on the horizon, and a simple wooden bridge across.

As simple and dull as it was, it was better than nothing. There didn't seem to be any explicit place for me to be, but with grass in every direction as far as the eye could see, I decided to live dangerously and head for the bridge. 

It was only as I grew closer to the bridge that I noticed a figure standing in the centre, blocking the path. I kept walking, slowly being able to identify who they were.

A man.

Kinda short, for his age, although it was difficult to tell what that was. His face was... ratlike. I had never seen a person who looked so much like a rat. He was hairier than your typical rat, however. And I couldn't spot a tail. 

He seemed to be staring straight ahead at me, but he didn't seem to even notice me at all. Even as I stepped tenatively on the rickety, narrow bridge, he stood frozen in place. 

From his expression it was unlikely he was lost in thought. Lost in lack of thought, maybe.

"Hello?"

"..."

"Excuse me?"

"... *snort*."

"Can you let me pass, please?"

"Can you let me pass, please". the ratman spoke back suddenly. His expression didn't change at all, and his voice, while not monotone, seemed to pronounce every word the same way.

"I asked you first!"

"I asked you first".

His words didn't seem to end conventionally with punctuation... they just stopped.

"No, you didn't, I did. Stop repeating what I say."

"..."

"So, are you going to let me pass?"

"So are you going to let me pass"

Things were going past annoying to just disconcerning. The ratman's expression still didn't change one inch. He wasn't moving, he wasn't blinking. His mouth hung open, and it didn't look like he could close it on his own. If it wasn't for the fact I heard him speak, I wouldn't have been able to tell if he was alive. 

"Who are you?"

"Who are you"

"Why are you here?"

"Why are you here"

"Are you stupid?"

"Are you stupid"

"Argh, leave ME ALONE!"

The ratman vanished. Just - gone. I wasn't going to stand there and mourn his passing. I crossed the bridge, ready to see what was on the other side.

...

...

Crossing the river had led me to a vast lake. There was no single bridge to cross this - a selection of many, criss-crossing and reversing and generally not doing a good job of getting someone across easily. I could see plenty more people walking around them this time. There was only one way across to start with - this bridge had mulitple cross-bridges - so I headed over.

"Excuse me."

A voice behind my back. I felt an arm around my back as a suit pushed against me. That's right. A suit. Not a person. A suit and hat, with a voice.

"Are you looking for something?" the suit asked.