Land of Plesant Living

[spoiler]When I die hallelujah by and by, i'll fly away fly away.[/spoiler

Something was off, I could even feel it with my eyes closed. Sunlight warmed my skin, a nice breeze tickled my nose. I tried to snap awake but my eyes thought differently. One slowly loomed open, adjusting to a cloudless day. Had I slept through the night? 

"What the hell?" I groaned to myself. I ached from every inch of my body.

      I ran a hand gingerly across my face. My fingers brought back blood, thick and sticky. I could feel the same in my hair. I turned my attention to my surroundings, the night before had apparently put me in a park sleeping under a thick oak. Steeples towered off in the distance, and buildings were visible from across the lot.

      The place was well groomed, every bush, every tree, and every single blade of grass looked as though someone had spent meticulous hours to manicure them. A prestigious gazebo marked the center of the area. The joint was even filled with children chasing bugs and playing ball. I sat up and put the tree behind my back just as a kick ball rolled to my feet. A pack of sprightly kids came to it but stopped to stare at me.

"Are you alright mister?" One of the little crumb snatchers asked.

"I've been better...been worse too." I shot the kid a smile and before I had realized it they'd already run off again.

       I made my way into a town with a 1950's kind of slow pace to it. There were plenty of people out doing small town things, talking with each other, or just out to be out. Some people even stopped the things they were doing to see if I'm alright. It caught me off guard each time, so I acted like I didn't hear any of them as I passed. Something about the town felt a little off, like a Norman Rockwell with a double homicide painted into the background somewhere.

      I wandered the streets, trying to get my bearings, a sign...anything. There was no telling where I was or even how I had gotten there. The night before it had been snowing, coming down hard. The night before I had been hitching through the Rockies. I catch my reflection in a diner window. My face had been battered. Dull stains traced back to my hair line, I must've been bleeding heavily at some point. My hair was matted to my scalp, thick and knotted. Depp purple bruising covered most of my face. As bad as it seemed it was only a little tender. Some prick probably jumped me.       I decided to go in, find out where I was, maybe even get a map. The place was styled like one of those boppin' swing joints, even the staff was dressed to fit. Everything was white and pearled red. The duprees on the jukebox and vinyll everything. This place was vintage. There was a portly black lady at the register shooting the breeze with a waitresses. They both saw me as I entered. Mouths dropped, I didn't think I looked that bad.

"Lord boy, are you alright?" She asked as I got to the counter.

"Yeah, for the most part I'm fine. Mind tellin' me where I am?"

"You're in Arcadia, are you sure you're alright?"

"Barely feel it, you guys have any maps or anything? I am still in Colorado right?"

"You're a good ways out of Colorado boy, where are you staying?"

"I'm actually just passing through." I told her, she wasn't paying attention as she scribbled something on some paper.

"Take this to the motel down the street, give it to Ed and he'll give you a room." She handed me the paper.

"I'm actually pretty broke." I pat my pockets to show her.

She shook it off, "Don't worry about that boy, just go get yourself cleaned up and rest some."

      I thanked her on my way out. The sun was still hanging bright in the sky. The town gave me a timid tension with it's pleasantries. Hadn't yet seen anyonedriving, everybody walked. Kids played outside carelessly, roaming the streets and park like they had never heard of Xbox or the internet.

      I passed couples that seemed old and familiar with each other, no matter how young the lovers. Stores filled with smilling customers being serviced by smiling employees. Boys carried bags for little old ladies down the street, listening to their stories attentively as they went. Everything was so peaceful, so sunny. There were no rude glares, no nasty remarks, not even to a drifter like me.

      The motel had been closer than I expected, when I saw the name I couldn't resist laughing. Of course it's going to have a name like that. I tried to get a feel for the place before I headed in. There weren't any cars parked in front of the rooms, vacant, all of them. The fresh scent of laundry hit me as soon as I entered the lobby. There was a man sitting behind the front desk laughing at the funny pages. He looked about as of the rocker as one could expect from a motel clerk. The little hair he had left was wild and whispy.

"Are you Ed?"

"Guilty as charged," He put down his paper and peered out from coke bottle glasses, "What can I do you for?"

"The lady at the diner sent me, told me to give you this." I said as I handed him the slip of paper.

"Ah Cheryl, love that lady," He dug around under the desk before bringing up a key, "Room seven, by the pool."

"I don-"

"Don't worry, you're covered Tex."

"Thank you, really." I shook his hand and took the key.

"Are you alright kid, lookin a little rough around the edges there." The concer on his face seemed magnified by his thick glasses.

"I'm good, looked alot worse this morning." It was true, my face had been a wreck this morning but the bruises already looked days old.

      I took a long shower, it surprised me to see that the tub only had one nob.The water seemed at the right temperature so it's not like it mattered. Thick clumps of blood and hair fell around my feet. The harder I scrubbed the thicker the water ran with my blood. After feeling and searching my scalp I gave up, there was no wound to be found. Nothing.

      I didn't bother putting my clothes back on, for the first time in awhile I had four walls around me. Instead I wrapped a towel around my waist and sprawled out on the bed. The room was nice, the bed soft, even the towel was more comfortable than the clothes I had been wearing. There wasn't a t.v. but it didn't matter, I hadn't watched one in months.

      Sunlight poured into the room, gently warming it. I didn't feel sleep coming so I just laid there. A knock on the door stirred me. With great remorse I rolled back out of bed. The knock started again.

"I know, I'm coming." I half yelled through the door.

      I opened the door to a girl holding a take-out tray. She was gorgeous, I couldn't take my eyes off her. I recognized her outfit, the skirt, the tip saddle, the blouse, it all screamed diner. She gave me a once over with her eyes and started to giggle.

"Is this a bad time?" She said through her hand as she covered her smile.

"Just as good as any. Can I help you?"

"Cheryl sent me over with some food for you," She smiled at me, her tongue grazing her perfect smile, "Nice towel."

"Would've been more embarrassed if you had seen what I was wearing." I went back to where my clothes were and began digging through my pockets, "I've got about four bucks."

      I turned back to see her stepping into the room, "Don't worry about it, it's on the house." She shut the door behind her and locked it before strutting over.

      The girl slid her finger over the top of my towel, "This on the house too?" She pulled and it fell around my ankles in a heap.

      I woke up to see dusk finally creeping in. My arm was trapped under the girl's side. Somehow I managed to get it free without tussling her too much. The trip to the door was quiet but still she managed to hear me.

"I'll be here when you get back." She says in a tired voice. A smile faked it's way across my lips as I closed the door.

      It had to have been how comfortable the place was, had to have been why it felt so off. Even as the sun went down the atmosphere stayed warm, the aroma of charcoal drifted in the breeze. I walked for awhile, trying to figure it out. I wasn't one to be ungrateful, but I was missing something about this place. The streets had cleared out, my footsteps echoed all alone down the sidewalk. An elderly man sat by himself at a bus stop. Something about him caught my eye on my way past. Something I hadn't seen anyone else in this town do. He had a cigarette in his hand.

"You're not from around here, are you old timer?" I had to stop and ask.

He didn't turn around, I almost figured he hadn't heard me, "Come on, sit kid."

      Something told me to, so I took the spot next to him on the bench. He stared off into the building across the street.

"What's with this place?

"Plannin' on leavin so soon kid?" His old raspy voice let out.

"For the most part." I joked.

"Figured. Bet this place has you all itchy, got you wantin' to go and go in a hurry." He half chuckled.

"What the hell are you talking about old man?" He must've been senile but his words clung to my bones.

"Used to wander myself. Never about going somewhere, always about no where to go back to." He let out another one of his laughs.

"I have to go." I stammer out. With a quickness I left but still he kept going.

"It's alright, no one knows how to act when they get what they want. Nothin' down that road you're gonna like!"

      I took the only direct road out of town. I walked and walked until there was a 'Now Leaving'  sign far behind me. A light snow had began to fall. A dense forest now surrounded as I trudged on. Before I had known it the snow was piling in over the tops of my shoes, still I moved on. The road turned into highway, a familiar one. Something just in the tree line something caught my eye, a wrecked car. In it's trail from the road I found it. I couldn't believe it. A body laid half buried in the snow. Some how I already knew it, but I had to see. I rushed to it and kicked it over.

"Shit....shit!" I fell to my knees in the cold, deep snow. My eyes grew heavy as my mind began to slip. I was getting so tired.

     I woke up to a bright light in a familiar park, under a grand oak tree.