The Tropical Die-land

The sky was washed in fog, the street lights peeked through contemptuously. The sound of sirens and screeching tires created an ear-splitting symphony. A symphony they performed almost every day. Rain started to pour down on the dirty streets and I pulled my hood up over my hair. I sighed angrily before stopping in front of the overbearing and dooming building of my place of work. It looked much like a prison in the dim light of early morning. It was surrounded by other prison-like buildings on every side. I clenched my fists before stomping my way through the front door. I shook the cold rain from my coat before taking my insignificant seat at my insignificant desk next to my insignificant coworkers. I dazed my way through the day as usual. When the sun had set once again I picked up my things and put my damp coat back on. I made my way through the building. I reached the clock-out desk. On the notification board behind the secretary was an ad for a tropical vacation that would be paid for by the company. I realized I had not wanted something more than I wanted to go on that tropical vacation. I had never wanted to get away from my life and from the suffocating city more than I did now. I turned to the secretary,

"Is the trip still available?" I asked her. She shook her pretty curls.

"No sorry, Jamie Noor took the last slot earlier today." She said monotonously. I didn't expect the disappointment that filled me at those words. I swiped my card and walked out of the building. I walked on the sidewalk, I wasn't watching where I was going when I stepped into a large puddle. I cursed as I felt my socks soaking in the grimy water. Suddenly I was grabbed from the side and pulled into an alleyway. A skinny man held a knife to my throat.

"Give me your money!" He spat. I took a shallow breath in fear that if I breathed too deep the knife would sink into my skin. I felt around me before feeling my fingers close around a rock. I smashed the rock into the guy's head and grabbed the knife from his hands. I ran out of the alleyway and back onto the main street. I ran until I couldn't run anymore. My side was aching and I was heaving. I stopped to lean against the wall of a brownstone when I saw a familiar head poke out of a cab. Jamie Noor. The idea of the joy that I would feel by feeling the sun on my face and the sand between my toes entered my head. I saw myself in Jamie's place on the list and as he approached me something took hold of me and soon the long knife that I didn't know I was still holding was buried in his stomach. I held his dripping body in my arms as I saw his blue eyes turn glassy. I wasted no time before dragging his cooling body in between two brownstones. I wiped the blood off of me as much as I could before continuing on my way home. I kept looking back in fear that someone had seen me. But mostly I was thinking about the luxurious trip I was about to go on. As soon as I got home I started packing. I would need a swimsuit of course. No need for a coat where I was going, I thought gleefully. I was done with the cold. I was done with the rain.

The next day the news of Jamie's death was like a black curtain over the office. Not that it felt much different to me, it felt like a funeral every day. I approached the secretary's desk,

"I suppose Jamie won't be using his spot on the vacation anymore?" I asked lightly. She sniffed.

"The board is considering canceling it out of respect for Jamie. Our coworker was murdered you know" She said. I frowned.

"Yes, that does seem to be what people are saying," I said through clenched teeth. She eyed me before sighing.

"Name?" She asked as she started typing on her computer. I gave her my name and phone number. "The plane tickets will be texted to you later tonight or tomorrow. The trip starts on Monday," She said defeatedly. I nodded and tried to hide my grin. Later that day I received the plane tickets. I would be leaving in less than three days. I thought once again of the beautiful sights I was going to see. The things I would do. I would swim amongst the dolphins, I would gaze upon reefs of coral. I would star gaze and drink pina coladas. Somthing I had not had in many years. The last time I had a pina colada was when my twenty-first birthday when my grandmother had taken me out to the beach. My grandmother always loved the beach.

I boarded a small plane. It was a full flight so I was forced to sit in a cramped middle seat next to a snoring man who took up half of my seat as well as his own. The woman sitting next to me seemed nice enough, she watched shows on her tablet the whole way and did not share a single word with me. I was fine with that as all I wanted to do was think about the island I was about the go to. When I exited the plane I stretched my legs and looked out the window, expecting to see a beautiful ocean. I saw corn. All I could see was corn. This was NOT the island I was supposed to be on. I grumbled before walking over to a help desk. The woman behind the desk looked very bored. I stood in line impaitenly.

"Where are we?" I asked her when I got to the front of the line. She looked up from her computer screen and raised an eyebrow.

"Indiana" She said tiredly.

"I am supposed to be on a tropical island right now. Why am I not there?" I spat. I was getting fed up with this woman. She was not ver helpful. She rolled her eyes before responding,

"No flights leave for a tropical island" She said condesendedly. I gwafed. Where had those tickets taken me!? I glance down at my ticket and gasped. They told me I was supposed to be in Indiana. I pulled out the flyer and as my eyes scanned the paper my anger grew ten fold. The flyer was advertising a trip to a Tropical Island Hotel in Fort Springs Indiana. I had misread the flyer. In my defense, the hotel part was in very small print.

"Where can I find a pilot?" I asked her sweetly, trying to calm my anger. She raised another skeptical eyebrow before pointing to her right. The Pilots Lounge. I rushed over to it. Nothing was going to stop me from going on my trip.