Not So Sweet Candyland

XXXVIII: Sacrifice

The city of Licorice was within eyes sight and Berry went in along with Chade.

"What are we doing here?" Chase asked.

"It's the only way to get to Caramel Desert. You have to go straight through the city with no turns. It will be hard, but do you know what day it is?"

Chase tried to look for his phone, but instead, there was a magical triangle.

Hello, Chase.
Today, it is Sunday, July 12th at 11:07am.

Chase was absolutely confused.

"What is this?"

"Oh that, it's called a MAMBA ANGLE, it's more of a watch and a compass, it tells you the weather and where to go. It can even do holograms. MAMBA! Can you make a hologram of a piece of key lime pie?"

"Certainly."

Light flashed through the case and a hologram showed up, it looked as good as it was to eat. Berry grabbed it and a tiny piece of key lime pie was in her hands.

She ate the whole thing.

"It tastes just like pie except it's not sugary. That's actually good."

"I'll try.... give me a Big Mac with some fries, a milkshake and a large soda."

"No, you fatass."

Berry laughed.

"Did you program this thing or something?"

"Nope."

While walking in the city, there was a sign that pointed to a building down below. "The Loveshich Bar", Berry decided "why not" and go there.

"Wait, aren't we supposed to be going straight?"

"We're not turning on a street, so I don't see the problem."

"Fine, whatever."

They walked into the bar and the first thing that caught their senses was the smell of bitterness. It was an all men's bar, and the men at the bar looked at Berry and Chase when they opened the door.

"We haven't had a girl.... oh wait, it's Vanessa. Hi Vanessa!"

They let their guard down around her.

"Hey guys!"

"Who'd you bring with you? He looks like the submissive type."

"Actually, this is somebody from the human world. His name is Chase."

"Hi Chase!"

"I never met a human before, I was expecting some sort of alien when you said human."

Berry sighed.

"Mr. Nemson, the only difference between us and the humans is that they have a limited amount of colors for hair and eyes, and unless they are not natural or contacts or hair dye, you can't permanently keep it."

"You sure know a lot about humans even though you're not one."

"Correction. I am half human and my mother was a human. I'm the daughter of the first human to get teleported here and find her way out. Now, I'm helping out an idiotic human who can't find his way out."

The men at the bar laughed.

"Hey, you should stay. We're having a debate topic that you and your human friend would like."

"Count me in!" Berry went to a bar stool and Chase sat at the edge of the bar, right next to her.

One of the men had a stick of cinnamon in his hand, and was waving it around.

"Ok hotshots and lover boys, today's topic is going to be a little deep. What is one thing that you dwell on that you have sacrificed?"

Everybody thought for a second.

"I'll introduce myself first, we have some new people here, so my name is Harrison. I sacrificed my wife and twin kids to live here. Believe it or not, I'm actually from Brownie Development, and I hated my life, I had a wife, kids, and a house, but I was not on the same page as the rest of my family was. So, I divorced my wife, she took the kids, and now, I live here. Do I regret it? No, I'm the happiest that I've been in years! But, I still think about my kids, and I think that they wonder where their dad is."

Everybody made silent grunts of approval.

"It's ok, Harrison."

Another person got up.

"I am Stefan and the one thing that I sacrificed was my left eye. I fell in love with a non binary (male) and I gave it to them. The problem was that they never knew me, and they have an eye and I don't."

"Hello, My name is Kamil. And, I sacrificed my full ride to Candyland College. Before I graduated high school, I was ready to pack my bags and go to Candyland College. But, I got in a fight with a girl's boyfriend who clearly was an abuser. When he swung, nothing happened. When I swung, the girl hung herself and I lost my ride."

Everybody gasped.

"Ok, it's a sad day to be talking about this, and even sadder to say, but, my name is George, and I sacrificed my wife and my unborn child. Not like that, no. When the current king took power, he started making all of these rules and my wife and I were from Pocky Factories. We decided to move to Licorice City. However, on the journey, there were spies.... during the day. They shot guns at us and I was critically injured and my wife died..." He started crying.

Berry went up to comfort him.

"Don't cry. Please don't cry."

George looked at her.

"What did you sacrifice?"

Berry took a step back and held her head down.

"Sacrifice cannot be ranked on a scale. Sacrifice makes us... selfless but traumatized. I think you know that I am the daughter of the king. And, I made sacrifices. I sacrificed the throne because I didn't want to be part of a corrupt family. I sacrificed my sister because she was too young, I sacrificed being next in line, I sacrificed power, friendships, love. What matters is that even though the trauma still lives on, we are still pushing. It's hard. It really is. But, us Licorice City people are known to push through even when times are tough. That's why we focus on the humans that have teleported to our world and we try to get them back home. And most of the time, it fails. But, you know what? There have been some successes, and I don't believe in failure. Because, when I go with Chase, I'll leave you all behind, and that will be my final sacrifice."