The drive through the country was beautiful. We passed forests and fields with shades of green I didn’t know existed outside paintings. My sister and I needed this. We hadn’t been in the same state outside holidays and visits to mom and for a while, this worked, but as any twin will tell you, stay apart too long and you feel a sense of loss. A pull that’s ever so subtle and grows stronger until it feels like you’ll wilt if you don’t see each other.
This pit in our stomach only grew after our mother grew ill. It drug out too long and after the whole…ordeal, we decided we needed a break together. Something to reconnect with each other. Wildflowers were in full bloom and provided a pleasant introduction to the worn-down sign that read “Tranquility” in weathered paint.
“Aldo, look at this! This place is beautiful! I can’t believe it took us this long to take a trip like this. Mom would’ve-” My other half trailed off but kept her head turned toward the flowers.
“I know Soph, I know. But she’s with us now and besides, pretty sure she wouldn’t want us depriving ourselves of trips together over grief.” I tried to sound comforting, but it came out as more of an upbeat melancholy.
Sophie chuckled “I can pretty much hear her. Aye, go on vacation with your brother, it’s like you don’t even love each other.”
“Haha, yea. Plus, the last time we told her no she threw a shoe at us like we were kids. Don’t say no to your mother it’s rude.”
We both laughed harder than we had in weeks. We pulled off the main road into town. The buildings were modernized with air conditioning units and antennae on a few roofs, but they still wore their history in their design. Rolling down the windows you could almost smell the old wood amongst the trees and food that wafted from the buildings.
Further in, the road opened into what was essentially a roundabout with a tall old church in the middle. It stood about half a height taller than the other buildings with weathered beige walls and darkened windows. It invited you to look upon it with awe but not dare approach unless invited. A large glass dome crowned it like a poor copy of those Lutheran churches. It looked more like a greenhouse than a place of worship. I wondered if it even did any good at letting the light in.
There was movement in the windows behind the grime as we drove past, but I gave it no second thought. Along the sides of the dirt road were men and women loading what I guessed to be their day’s harvests into large containers and trucks. Others were taking baskets into the stores whose chimneys and windows exhaled smoke from old ovens and gas stoves.
The townsfolk seemed alright if not a bit standoffish. We had some passing glances, but it was the hard stares, each one with an air of reticence and suspicion that gave us pause. For a place with an advertised BnB, it was a little odd, but I chalked it up to them not getting many visitors. The population couldn’t be more than maybe a hundred or so people, but it seemed they all contributed in some way to the town’s existence.
The road eventually split in two, straight ahead was the forest that broke off again toward more farmland on our left. I turned right toward the two-story home with red paneling and grey accents; a large four-bedroom with stone stairs hugged by flower beds. I had to go down quite the internet rabbit hole before I finally found something new and affordable, but I was glad it paid off. The owners came out the greet us as we parked, more friendly than the residents.
“Oh my! Now you must be Aldo and Sofia! Wow! You know twins run in my family too!” A tall woman exclaimed as she hurried down the porch, her husband a few steps behind her. “Glad to have you here in our quaint little town! My name’s Frank” he said boisterously as he shook each of our hands. He had one of those thin builds that held a deceptive amount of strength which he used to pick up our bags and take long strides back up toward the house.
“Oh my! I get so excited, forgive me, my name is Susan, but you can call me Sue! We are so excited to have you as guests. You know I started this B&B because I just loved meeting new people.” My sister and I smiled politely and followed her inside.
“Well, this is a warm welcome. I was worried we might be in the wrong place based on how the townspeople looked at us.” My sister said.
“Oh, don’t mind them. Mayor has been in a bad mood lately and it’s reflected in the citizenry. Though some are just cranky old fools.” Sue mused. It took us a short while to get situated while Sue trotted out an assortment of baked goods, teas, and coffee.
We had the opportunity to sit around and chat a while. Her husband Frank was gone most of the day. He was one of the main people in charge of the farms and planned crop rotation. We learned that the town didn’t have a place for visitors, and this was all a new endeavor.
“The Mayor has been here quite some time. No one dares take the job, but he has done well enough keeping the forest preserved and the town well fed.” I could understand, the responsibility of keeping a town together was a weight I wouldn’t be interested in bearing
Frank gave us a ride back into town and let us out across from the old church then gave an exaggerated wave as he circled around back the way he came. We walked through the market speaking to small vendors that were friendlier than the farm workers who kept their distance. One store caught our eye, the freshly painted sign read: “Jewels of Tranquility” and upon entering we were hit with the sweet smell of caramel, syrup, and fruit. Aligned along the middle isles as much of the produce from the fields in various wrappings and packages dependent on whether they were candied, seasoned, chopped, or whole.
“Aldo come look at this.” Sophie gestured over. She was fixated on a group of rusty red fruit with yellow undertones that bled through.
“What is this?” I picked up the one nearest me. “A little hairy to be a peach.”
“We gotta try one. Why come all this way if not to try something different!?” Sophie exclaimed.
“That’s our town treasure.” Said an older gentleman who approached from the counter. He wiped his weather hands with a handkerchief and placed it back in his pocket. “It used to only be grown for us. Don’t get a lot of imports into town and this was a staple that supplemented the rest of the food for a while. Our dear Mayor has kept it that way, though he’s recently considered selling to nearby towns.”
“This is completely local? Still seems weird I would’ve never heard or seen anything like this before.” I said, palming the fruit in my hand.
“Well, you know small-town folk.” Sighed the shopkeeper. “The soil here has been its own kind of special since the late 1800s according to my grandfather. Went through a bit of a tough period but the community came together and started plantin and crossin what they could, but few things could survive the poor yield.” The shopkeeper turned and motioned for us to follow him back to the counter. “-ah, bring that with you will ya? Afraid I’ll have to ask you to buy it since you’ve been palming it like a prom date.”
My sister cackled and I felt my face darken to the reddish brown of embarrassment as we followed the man. He rounded the counter and continued “One day, someone comes skippin’ out the woods there, arms full a’ the fruit you got in your hand. Claimed they had wanted to see if it was edible and that the seed could grow to maturity, which they did. Planted a patch of them, then a row, then fields. Never received too much but never too little. It fixed our crop problem and well, here we are.” The man opened a glass case behind him and brought out two pieces of the fruit that had been cut in fours and covered in caramel, set delectably in a paper wrapper.
“I’ll give all this to ya for let’s say ten bucks. Need to get rid of these today and won’t be picky over 3 or 4 dollars.” I still felt bad about handling this man’s produce so I quickly pulled the money out of my pocket and gave him an extra $5 just for his time. “Thanks a lot. Besides our hosts, you’ve been the longest conversation we’ve had.”
“Hah, well. Don’t judge them too harshly they’re stubborn but they- “. He was cut off by the cacophony of church bells. The few customers in the store went outside and we followed, close behind the shopkeeper. The sound of the bells was warped, nauseating, and invasive as it reverberated through me. The doors creaked open, heavier than they looked, and robed figures, some no taller than children and others who bent to clear the threshold came out side by side only to zipper out around the building on the road toward the forest.
One of the abnormally tall priests stopped and turned in our direction, the others behind them didn’t miss a beat and stepped around. Under the surface of the black void sewn by their hood was a single blue eye that shone like azurite filled with anger, or was it excitement? My thoughts were interrupted by a sticky smacking beside me and I turned to see Sophie also fixated on the priest while using the wrapping paper to shove the last piece of candied fruit in her mouth. I noticed the other paper crumpled in her other hand.
“Did you seriously eat mine too?” I asked annoyed
My sister looked down at her hands, surprised by her own actions. “Sorry, I didn’t even realize. I remember I thought how good it was and before I knew it was gone. I thought to hand you yours, but they came out and- I don’t know.”
I looked back and the priest was gone, presumably to join the rest as they swayed back and forth in awkward strides down the road. We spent a bit more time in the area then decided to walk back to the BnB since it was such a nice day and cause Sophie wanted to work off that candied fruit. Don’t know if it did much good because she had eaten the one I had to buy too, again, not realizing what she had done.
Night came soon after and with it an immaculate dinner of roasted duck with local vegetables. Sophie and I decided to keep what we saw to ourselves, not wanting to get carried away in conversation and offend our hosts by how freaked out we were by people they knew their whole lives. We sat on the back porch swing facing the woods with a couple of beers and talked about our futures. Our dream careers, when we would like families, what our kids would call each of us during visits.
“I’m going to force them all to learn how to cook so that by the time they’re older I have to do way less housework.” Sophie chuckled.
“I have no plans for them. Just that they’re happy, though I wouldn’t mind if one or two happened to make the money to grant me an early retirement.” I said and we clinked bottles. I paused, lowering my bottle as blue fireflies danced at the tree line across the field. Sophie stood and set her bottle down on the wooden stand next to her. “Do you see that? I think those fireflies are all circling something.”
The clouds overhead passed slowly spilling more moonlight ahead. It was one of the priests from before. There was a dark aura about it that triggered my flight response. Sophie and I were fully leaning on the banister that surrounded the porch; our breath long and slow in fear that it would hear us breathe. The dark slit of the hood left no doubt it was staring at us, and the moonlight flicked through showing a glint of blue marble under the hood.
The figure leaned against the foremost tree and grew 3 feet in size and began to seethe. It shook its head and the trees disapprovingly in a wild tantrum. I pictured it leaping through the field and tearing us apart. Instead, it tears a terrifying amount of bark and splinters from the tree and turned deeper into the woods.
We ran back inside and locked the door. The house was dark and eerily quiet; the owners were nowhere to be found. Sophie and I checked all the locks and windows and convinced ourselves we had drunk too much. I stared out the window beside my bed. The field of grass and flowers was enshrouded in blue lights that danced on the wind.
That night I dreamt I was lying in a field of indigo grass that swayed rhythmically with my breath. The feeling of peace was indescribable as the warm earth enveloped me like a blanket. I rose to look at the landscape around me, but my hands sank into the ground, and I was forced onto my back. The ground swallowed me quickly and no matter how I flailed and clawed at the walls I sank deeper into the dark abyss.
I was sure I would suffocate but never lost consciousness. I ripped at my throat just for a chance at the air. An eternity passed before I stopped falling and the ball in my stomach settled hesitantly. The earth let loose its grip and became a loving embrace once again. It pulsed, stronger and more frequently as something in the blackness stirred. I prayed whatever it was, was ignorant of my presence though it was unlikely. Lightning broke through the darkness and colors beyond comprehension pulsed, intertwined, and spread as they flickered in and out.
Tendrils of light snaked up my body like interstellar vines. I heard a voice in a language I didn’t recognize; it constantly changed in pitch which wracked my mind. I saw images of the tendrils snaking through and around interlocking shapes as it had me. Living beings of all shapes and forms appeared before me, some with anatomy that resembled humans, and others had forms unrecognizable to me.
They walked together with their own and sang in a myriad of alien languages. Stars showered over each race and a single mote of light settled amongst each group. One member of each race picked up the light and swallowed it, spreading their appendages to allow the familiar tendrils to strike out into those around them.
The beings became infected and grew into bloated twisted versions of their former selves. Those I recognized to have faces grew and grew then with an expression of pure ecstasy lifted into the air and new tendrils burst forth, splitting them into new shapes as their dark prophets rejoiced. The tendrils weaved into one another, the ones that brought doom to their people were now catalysts that connected them to the other beings.
They orbited around each other as their limbs twisted and grew together. They sang a different song, but in a beautiful harmony of the voice that greeted me in the abyss. Through the cacophony of light and sound, there was a luminous shape that stood above all others. I can’t explain it, but I knew it had turned to me. It showed me another vision, rings that rotated around each other, struck by starlight.
A human picked up the star and took it within themselves. It began to spread but halted before it could infect the entire group. The prophet raised their hands into the air and the infected people fell to their knees in worship. The luminous being began to shriek and thrash in anger, tearing the man into pieces. Its tendrils approached me in a warm inviting glow, an offer. I woke up.
The white bed sheets were soaked in sweat and smelled like sour iron. I knocked on the door Sophie and I shared. I waited a moment and opened it. Her bed was empty except for broken shards of glass and moonlight that shone through her window.