Discovery

The thing about this city is that it can be the best place ever or it can be a place straight out of your worst nightmare. You are the one in control of how things will go, the catch is you don’t know that when you arrive. Let me tell you about the first day I arrived in Discovery. A beautiful city with the most terrifying secret lurking just out of sight and ready to pounce.

I had arrived in the afternoon, and even though exhausted by my travels, I remember marveling at the beauty of it all. The colors of the sky were like nothing I had ever imagined. Vivid blue, streaked with magenta low floating clouds. The grass was the strangest, brightest turquoise that you could imagine. In the breeze I could smell a sweetness that brought me back to my childhood, with it a sense of contentment that lulled me into a feeling of safety. My weariness forgotten, I headed straight for town eager to grab a beer and see what new and interesting things I could find. If I were lucky, maybe I could meet some locals and get some advice on the best places Discovery had to offer.

As I poked in and out of the little shops along the boardwalk, I kept an eye out for the perfect looking pub. You know the type, small, quaint, not overly crowded. People there are relaxed and at home. This is where they stop off in the afternoons on their way home from work. A place that has just the right energy.

There were a variety of shops offering all sorts of odds and ends. Most of the stuff was your everyday souvenir type garb that you see in every gift shop on any vacation you’ve ever taken. The shops all seemed big on swords and shields along with other various handheld weapons. I found this odd but not troubling at the time. They were most likely fake, cheaply made things anyway, and besides most places are known for something I guess. Discovery must be known for small weapons.

At last, the perfect pub is in view, just at the end of the boardwalk on the corner where you could look out at the beach. From this view you could also see the road leading up the gentle hill where houses were perched overlooking this majestic place. I can’t imagine the sunsets they must see. Although, isn’t it funny that every beach has the same magnificent homes with balconies and huge picture windows with incredible views and yet most of the shades are down? What a waste! There are a few people playing pool and others sitting at tables having a chat. The mood seems inviting enough, so I head to the bar and order a cold one. I love to people watch and I think that pubs really are the best place to do this. I keep to myself and just watch, I am looking for the bar “fun police”, you know the one. It seems that every pub has a grumpy, angry person somewhere, usually at a corner table in the back sitting alone and scowling at the world. As I look around, I don’t see anyone that fits this bill. Could it be that I have found the one pub in the world that doesn’t have an asshole as a permanent fixture?

I do notice one guy sitting off in the corner. At first, I think he’s watching me. He doesn’t look angry or grumpy, just sort of curious. Our eyes meet and I feel super awkward and almost say something, but then he gets up and joins a group at another table. I must be imagining things, it’s easy to get paranoid when alone in a new place.

I head over to the room I had booked, more of a cabin really, just perfect for me. I check in easily enough and get my stuff situated. It’s a small room just with a single bed, refrigerator, one table and a TV. Really all a person would need and not a single thing extra. It’s okay as I plan to start the hunt for something a bit more permanent in the morning. I plan to spend this year re-grouping and figuring out what it is that I should be doing with my life. I am 34 years old, time to get my shit together. I need to put the past in the past and move forward.

That evening I grab some dinner and head for the beach. As I sit down in the sparkling sand I look out across the water in awe. The sun is very low, and there are birds flying all about. Most of these I don’t recognize but there were plenty of common seagulls reassuring me that I was still in the world that I belonged to.

As is usually the case, at least with me anyway, to simply daydream on a sunny day is far too much to ask. I have a habit of ruminating on things and drive myself a little crazy with obsessive thoughts regarding the past. So, my thoughts soon turn a bit dark as I think about things I should have done differently or things that I feel people did to me. It’s the usual bullshit that flies through a person’s mind. Mostly I’m really angry at my family for keeping secrets from me, as if I were just a stranger and not someone they could trust.  I still can’t believe that they hid my sister’s daughter from me. She was now five years old and all this time I had thought she was a foster child that my parents had opened their home to. Instead of being kind, sweet, loving people I find out that they are nothing more than liars making sure the family name isn’t smeared by a teen pregnancy…no wonder they were so willing to help me pay for the art school that had gotten me out of the house so that I never caught on to the scandal. Ugh, it all just makes me sooo angry.

I suddenly notice that the clouds have turned black, and you can barely make out the sun caught behind them. The bird noise is no longer calming, it sounds more like someone dragging their fingernails down a chalkboard. I notice the birds themselves have tripled in size and they look very angry. I grab my stuff and start to run back up the trail. I feel the raindrops start falling on my head. They sting as they hit my face and I feel welts forming there. The ground beneath my feet begins to tremble and I see a jagged crack opening alongside me. I can’t believe this is happening, everything was just so peaceful. This doesn’t even seem possible to me, it’s like something out of a nightmare only somehow, it’s real. I run as fast as I can back to my room, I come frighteningly close to falling into the crevasse that’s now gaping beside me, who knows what horrors I would find down there, although I doubt I would live long enough to care. I can see the door to my room just ahead. The oddest thing is the guy that I saw at the pub earlier is there leaning against the wall all casual like. He doesn’t even notice what is happening. I yell to him to look out and try to warn him that something is terribly wrong. He just nods and I figure well, forget him!

I can feel the wind from the monster bird wings on the back of my neck. I am almost there. It’s going to be close, but I think I can make it. I reach inside myself and find the last bit of speed that I can muster. I hit the porch and push though the door. As I slam it closed, I hear the loud thud of the bird making contact, the entire building begins to shudder and shake, I see small cracks beginning to form at the tops of the wall. This is a nightmare; I pinch myself to see if I can wake up, but nothing happens. My mind is reeling, and I think how can this possibly be real? I hear a voice calling to me. It’s that creepy guy yet again. He is now standing in the doorway of my bathroom. I have no idea how he got there and at this point I don’t care. I can just make out what he’s saying. “Think a happy thought dude” is what I hear. What a freak! It makes no sense to me and I ignore him as I’m looking for a place to hide. I think this building is going to come down soon, smashing me in the process.

Now the stranger Is grabbing me by the shoulders and screaming at me to think of one happy thought, “NOW!” he yells. Almost against my will I think about hanging out at the beach back home with my girlfriend…the building stops shaking. “Think of another happy thought”, the stranger says. This is easy for me because hanging out at the beach automatically makes me think of making out on the beach. I notice that the sky is brighter outside my window, I no longer hear the horrible screeching of the monster birds but the calming songs of much smaller birds. This is crazy. What is going on!

I look to the stranger with my mouth hanging open. I can’t seem to get my voice to work. I must look like a total idiot…but geeze I think I almost died! The stranger says, “chill out dude, I’m Jack who are you and where did you come from?” “I live in Seattle” I stammer. “I’m Ben, what the hell is going on?” “Did you see that crazy shit?” “Where did it all go?” “Hang on there” Jack says, “one question at a time!” So I try to collect my thoughts while taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

Jack took a seat across from me and began to tell me about when he first got here. Much like me he was running away from family drama and just wanted to be left alone. His first experience was much like mine, only he was hanging out at the park instead of the beach. Instead of birds chasing him it was chipmunks, but it ended in much the same way. His savior was a guy named Greg and Greg had to get control of Jack in much the same way Jack got me to calm down and stop the madness of my thoughts. Jack spent hours telling me about the ups and downs of this city and how the city literally feeds on the emotions of its residents. Jack ended his tales with “Now it is your turn to help someone out. When you see the skies darken and you inevitably hear the shrieks of terror coming from whoever it might be you need to somehow get their attention and direct them to a happy thought. This is ridiculously hard as they not only are totally freaked out but most likely they are in a piss poor mood and angry at something which is what brought the whole mess down on our heads to begin with. They likely will look at you as though you’re the freak, much like you did me, but in the end it is your responsibility to get them to see that they are the ones creating the problem and that they can change the outcome. You might find that you’ll have to fight your way out of some pretty sticky situations because if they don’t listen in a timely manner, all hell will break loose. “I recommend you get yourself kitted up from the local shops with some good defense weapons and always be prepared. This is the price we a pay to live in such a beautiful city with so much to offer.”

I thought to myself that this was all pretty crazy, but if you think about it, it is a small price to pay as this place really did have a lot to offer. Now that I understand the true nature of the beast, I think I can handle it. Talk about a persuasive argument to finally get control of my mental health! No more time spent dicking around with self-help books and trying online meditation. The choice is just to take control or die trying.

That’s the thing about this city.