It's here! I've been stewing on this project idea for about a month and I'm happy to say that the first chapter is out now. What is it, you ask? A Musical!... of sorts. You'll understand once you read it. Don't worry, there will be lots of drama in this story, and if you have any ideas of what you'd like to see, let me know! also, I'm going to have a bachelorette challenge MUCH later in the story, so if that interests you, stick around? On with the SHOW!
“Well, Ms. Lahwen, I believe that that’s one of the last papers to sign, and I know we would both like very much to get out of this office, so I will be the first to congratulate you on owning the empty building in the spice district. Goodness knows that it has been left empty for a while, please try and make it a shining example of what is possible in this town.” the man stood up to leave, pushing back his chair. His tie was loosened and he was sweating on his exposed temples. The heat was sweltering and there was no air conditioner in the corner to give aid. Rose gave him a pair of finger guns of enthusiasm.
“Thank you, Mr. Bones, I am beyond the moon, and not only to get out into the breeze!” she laughed.
The two of them exited into the hallway, and already she felt a few degrees cooler.
I hope the poor man gets to go home now to a cool house. This is terrible. Like soup. “Well, here are the keys, Promise to not burn it down and I’ll be happy. You’ll probably get a Holiday card from us, and the bills for your mortgage, but beyond that, you’re on your own. If you need help, I could probably find someone to help you, but…” he trailed off.
But he didn’t want to. He wanted to get closer to retirement, not having to hold a mid 20 something’s hand through owning a property. He wanted to see his grandkids, not have to wonder what this young woman was doing with her land and whether or not she was going to have it up to code, or who she was going to marry and have kids with, heck he didn’t want to think about it at all. He wanted to go home, watch a cop show, and live his own life, not this young woman’s.
“I understand, but I think I’ve got this. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Maybe you’ll get a Holiday card too.” she smiled sweetly and gave a small shrug.
“Eh, don’t get too cheeky. Here’s the keys, do you want a ride there? I could drop you off.” Mr. Bones offered.
“No, the train comes soon, I’ll just hop on there. But thankyou for the offer. Have a great evening.”
“Pleasure doing business with you.” he said with a defeated smile. Heather guessed the heat had won the battle and he was melting.
Rose walked away from the office, nearly skipping, and as soon as she turned the corner she kissed her hand holding the key. She wanted to kiss the key, but her brain said that it had probably been in some odd places, who knew when the last time it had been disinfected had been. It was an old building, after all, so the key had certainly been in a few people’s possession.
Rose ran across the street to the train stop, waiting for the right one to come along, buzzing with energy. She would have to work her butt off making enough money to pay for the bills, but that was life wasn’t it? Work hard and maybe you’ll make it?
~*~
Getting off the train she looked at the building she had seen so many days next to the bay, sitting empty. Now it was hers and the key would turn the lock and open it. Her hands shook as she opened the door.
[Play the video, have it playing and scroll slowly along with the words.]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QT2-88DCZ8No words, my tears won't make any room for more
And it don't hurt
Like anything I've ever felt before
This is no broken heart
No familiar scars
This territory goes uncharted
Just me in a room sunk down in a house in a town
And I don't breathe
No, I never meant to let it get away from me
No, too much to hold
Everybody has to get their hands on gold
And I want uncharted
Stuck under the ceiling I made
I can't help but feeling
I'm going down
Follow if you want I won't just hang around
Like you'll show me where to go
I'm already out
A foolproof idea, so don't ask me how
To get started, it's all uncharted
Each day I'm countin' up the minutes
'Til I get alone, 'cause I can't stay
In the middle of it all, it's nobody's fault, but I'm
So alone, never knew how much I didn't know
Oh, everything is uncharted
I know I'm getting nowhere
When I only sit and stare like
I'm going down
Follow if you want I won't just hang around
Like you'll show me where to go
I'm already out
A foolproof idea, so don't ask me how
To get started, it's all uncharted
Jump start my kaleidoscope heart
Love to watch the colors fade
They may not make sense
But they sure as hell made me
I won't go as a passenger, no
Waiting for the road to be laid
Though I may be going down
I'm taking flame over burning out
Compare
Where you are to where you want to be
And you'll get nowhere
Shutting the door for the night
I'm going down
Follow if you want to or just hang around
Like you'll show me where to go
I'm already out
A foolproof ideas, so don't ask me how
To get started
I'm going down
Follow if you want I won't just hang around
Like you'll show me where to go
I'm already out
A foolproof idea, so don't ask me how
To get started, it's all uncharted
Comments
Chasing the Sun
With sleep in her eyes, Rose opened her mouth to speak. “Can I help you?”
“I'm here for the empty room? It's pretty drafty outside, I hope it's comfortable in here. Wow, this place looks great! The rooms are upstairs?” she asked in an enthusiastic stream of words. She walked in and started looking at the flowers on display, weaving between the categories.
She certainly pushed her boundaries. Rose rolled her eyes.
“Look, it's really late, I didn't even get your name, and I have to get up early tomorrow. If you leave your phone number I can call you tomorrow when I get the time.”
The young woman looked confused. “But the ad said immediate housing, didn't it? Did I read it wrong? I'm sorry, it wasn't lit very well. But I'm not dangerous. What do you want to know about me? I'll tell you anything!” she chirped
“To start, what's your name? Why are you looking for a place to stay in the middle of the night? Do you have any history of drug use? Are you a party animal? Are you planning on having lots of people over? Where are your belongings? What do you do for a living?” Rose was coming off rather harshly, but she was agitated. She was supposed to be sleeping in a room that had taken months to get comfortable in, a business that was finally up and running and she didn't like to be surprised. She liked to have her time planned out, to be efficient, not having people walk in at 11 at night.
The young woman looked a bit scared, but threw on a smile. She would do well in retail. “My name is Claire, I just got off the boat that came in from Sunset Valley, and I don't have a clue where my belongings are. The little bit a had got lost and I'm trying to hold it together. I have no history of drug use, but I do drink on occasion. As far as parties go, I like to party but not where I live. There would be no parties here, besides close friends if I had any. As for a living, I'm between gigs, but I have plenty in savings for rent for a few months. Do you know if the are any bakeries hiring nearby?”
Rose was mildly impressed by Claire's calm temper. She had answered her questions without hesitation and if the answers were correct, she felt bad for her. Nowhere to go on a wet, cold night. She didn't smell like 🐸🐸🐸🐸, she wasn't stumbling over drunk, no red flags.
“Two more questions.” Rose said. “Do you thump when you walk?”
“I do not. My dad lectured that out of me from a young age.” she answered.
“And two; do you need some pajamas to wear?” Rose offered. Claire looked like she was going to become a puddle on the floor from tears of relief, and Rose took her upstairs, showing her her bathroom and her room. It had the most basic necessities, but Claire looked at it like it was a fancy hotel.
“Now, I should tell you that I run a flower business on the ground floor. I would prefer that you not come down unless you are decent, and try to treat that space like a business and not you home. The apartment starts at the top of the stairs, the rest is-”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Thanks for the room and the pajamas. I gotta get some sleep so I can go job hunting tomorrow bright and early.” Claire interrupted. This was something that Rose was not used to. She was used to her own silence, her own thoughts, not having another person share her space. It was jarring and agitating.
“Ok,” Rose backed out of the room politely. “I’ll leave you alone. We can talk about rent tomorrow. Good night.” She walked up the stairs to the third floor of the warehouse she had chosen to call home. She didn’t like that Claire had interrupted her. What right did she have? But then, it was a pretty easy concept to understand. Don’t come down the stairs in your underwear. Maybe Rose had been rambling on about it and she had understood and had saved them a bit of time and effort. Rose decided to, for once, be impartial to the situation.
Claire didn’t get out of bed bright and early the next day. She slept until 2 in the afternoon, but she didn’t show herself indecently. She went for a walk after she had some food, “stretching her legs,” she said.
Rose ran the store with nearly endless energy. She didn’t seem to tire, until she crawled up into bed at the end of the day. A very long day. She usually opened the store at 8 in the morning, and got up to bed at 9 at night, burning the candle at both ends. She hadn’t had a break all day, and Claire was noticing this. She was turning a good profit, but she hadn’t done anything but work since Claire had arrived.
Claire got home to find Rose yawning over her stocking forms, standing in the main room.
“Go to bed, you wacko. You’re making the rest of us look bad.”
“I can sleep when I’m dead. Life only happens once and is not meant to be wasted.” she deflected as she continued scribbling.
“When was the last time you went out? You know, forget going out, when was the last time you left the house?” Claire asked.
“Uh, must have been Tuesday. I get groceries on Tuesday.” she answered half heartedly.
“No, I got the groceries on Tuesday. I remember because you wrote it in and email and sent it to me three times to make sure I got it right. You were here, tending to your plants. Come on, since I got here, you haven’t been out for fun. It’s always for business or survival. You need to get out and live a little.”
Rose wasn’t having any of it. She was exhausted, ready for bed, and she didn’t want to fight with Claire right now. She didn’t have a job, she certainly didn’t have her own business, who was she to tell her to change?
“Look, This is my life. I need to do this to pay my bills, to pay for this huge place, and with the high ceilings it’s a terror to heat. If I have to spend all o my time now so that I have time later, then so be it. At least I will be able to retire happily.”
By the time Rose looked back at Claire, she was looking at her bare wrist as if watching a watch. “Oh that’s rich! And what, pray tell, would you know about living? You walk around all day, everyday, hoping you’re find the perfect job fall right into your lap. What has that gotten you, huh? What sage advice do you have?”
{Play and scroll along with the words}
“I’m happy you asked. The other day, I took the center of town right to the the oldest part.
Claire:It’s a really old city
Stuck between the dead and the living
So I thought to myself,
Sitting on a graveyard shelf
As the echo of heartbeats,
From the ground below my feet
Filled a cemetery
In the center of Queens
I started running the maze of
The names and the dates, some
Older than others the skyscrapers, little tombstone brothers
With Manhattan behind her, three million stunning reminders
Built a cemetery
In the center of Queens
You said, remember that life is
Not meant to be wasted
We can always be chasing the sun!
So fill up your lungs and just run
But always be chasing the sun!
Rose:So how do you do it,
With just words and just music,
Capture the feeling that my earth is somebody’s ceiling
Claire, In thought:
Can I deliver in sound
The weight of the ground
Of a cemetery
In the center of Queens
There’s a history through her
Sent to us as a gift from the future
To show us the proof
More than that, it’s to dare us to move
And to open our eyes and to learn from the sky
From a cemetery
In the center of Queens
You said, remember that life is
Not meant to be wasted
We can always be chasing the sun!
So fill up your lungs and just run
But always be chasing the sun!
All we can do is try
And live like we’re still alive
They’re at the cemetery at early dawn
It’s a really old city
Stuck between the dead and the living
So I thought to myself
Sitting on a graveyard shelf
And the gift of my heartbeat sounds like a symphony
Played by a cemetery
in the center of Queens
You said, remember that life is
Not meant to be wasted
We can always be chasing the sun!
So fill up your lungs and just run
But always be chasing the sun!
All we can do is try
And live like we’re still alive
All we can do is try
(It's tickets to a concert)
And live like we’re still alive
Will you come with me?