The Rose Colored Glasses

Tracy plopped down on the couch with a loud groan. Her whole body hurt from being on her feet all day at the grocery store. She hated her job as a cashier. The scent of tomato sauce and Italian herbs wafted towards her from the steaming plastic bowl on the coffee table.

She looked down at the microwave meal with disgust. She knew from past experience that the dish wouldn’t taste nearly as good as it smelled. The spaghetti was a pasty mass of overcooked noodles and pasta sauce. Like usual, only two meatballs had been included in the tray and they were dry and more than a little freezer burned.

Tracy resigned herself to her fate and took a bite, immediately burning the roof of her mouth. She popped open a can of soda and gulped down the heat. The meal tasted as bad as she had expected, but the taste wasn’t why she bought these things. They were convenient and they took away the hunger long enough to fall asleep. She had to be up early again in the morning for work.

The apartment was deafeningly quiet with her roommate Ashley gone for the holidays. She had taken her two boisterous golden retrievers with her as well. Tracy flipped on the television and immediately the small living room was filled with the heated voices of a landlord and tenant arguing while a judge attempted to mediate. She finished her pathetic meal and pushed the can and plastic tray across the coffee table to join the others.

There was no point in tidying up yet. Ashley wouldn’t be back for weeks. She had taken off the entire month of December to go spend it with her family in...some place or another. Tracy had never asked Ashley where her family lived. It must be somewhere out in the country though. She had warned her that cell reception would be spotty.

Tracy smiled bitterly. She felt abandoned. The two women had been roommates for less then a year but already they had developed a close friendship. They hung out all the time and since Ashley had never talked about her family, Tracy had just assumed she was estranged from them like she was. After Ashley’s insistence that they buy a Christmas tree and decorate it the day after Thanksgiving, Tracy thought they would be spending the holiday together. She had been mistaken.

Tracy turned the volume up a few notches on the television and curled up into a ball. She attempted to lose herself in the drama on screen.

*****

Tracy woke to a series of loud knocks on the door. She glanced at her phone and saw that it was just after two in the morning. She grumbled as she sat up from where she had fallen asleep on the couch and tried to stretch the crick out of her neck. Who in the world would be at her door at this hour? Maybe if she ignored them, they would just go away.

The knocking continued.

“You’ve got the wrong apartment!” Tracy yelled as she switched off the television. She glared at the door.

This time the banging actually rattled the chain lock. Ashley had added the extra security measure shortly after moving in. At the time, Tracy had thought it silly, the door already had two normal locks, but now she was glad it was there.

Tracy got up from the couch and stiffly hobbled over to the door on her still swollen feet. She leaned in to peer out the peephole, but ended up immediately jumping back, as the unwanted visitor set to pounding continuously.

“I’m telling you, you have the wrong apartment!” Tracy shouted. This idiot was going to wake up the entire building. She placed a hand flat against the wood frame and ignored the way it shook as she leaned in to get a look.

Her eye met the cold metal ring and the noise suddenly stopped. No one was there. Or at least no one was standing in the small area she could see. There was, however, something on the ground. A package?

Tracy waited several long minutes before slowly unlocking the door. She opened it as far as the chain would allow and peeked outside. The hallway was empty. She looked down at the festive reindeer mat her roommate had given her before she left. Sure enough there was a small, brown paper package balanced on it.

Tracy undid the chain and snatched the package inside, quickly re-locking the door behind her. She worried that the violent delivery man might still be lurking around.

The box was cold from being outside. Tracy tossed it on the kitchen counter. She hadn’t ordered anything and she wasn’t expecting any deliveries. She hadn’t spoken to her family in years and she didn’t have any close friends other than Ashley, so it couldn’t be a gift for her.

Maybe it was for her roommate. Tracy double checked that the door was secured and then stumbled back to the couch. Whatever it was, it could wait until tomorrow. She only had about three more hours to sleep before getting up for work. Pulling one of the dogs’ blankets off the back of the couch, she fell back asleep surrounded by the earthy scent of canine and stale tomato sauce.

*****

The next morning Tracy inspected the package before leaving for work. It was rectangular in shape and slightly smaller than a shoe box. She turned it, checking all the sides, trying to find an address or some sort of marking to indicate who it was for. It was very neatly wrapped in scratchy brown shipping paper, but there was no sticker.

She worried that it might not be for her roommate after all. What if the delivery person had the wrong apartment and it belonged to one of her neighbors? Tracy fired off a text to Ashley asking if she was expecting anything. Hopefully she would be within cell service at some point during the day.

*****

That evening as Tracy was sitting down to another disappointing frozen dinner, her phone chimed with a text back from her roommate.

“Not expecting a package. Must belong to neighbor. Hope you’re having a good week! Get out and do something fun! See something new! Back in the New Year!”

Attached was a picture of her roommate rolling around in the snow with her dogs. All three looked like they were having a blast. Tracy felt a pang of jealousy. She set the phone down and turned on the television for company. A police procedural marathon was underway.

Ashley was always trying to get her to go out and do things. And Tracy did. Sometimes. But usually only when Ashley dragged her along on one of her adventures. Tracy had really been looking forward to spending the holidays with her new roommate. Tree lightings, ice skating, maybe hot coco in some little artsy coffee shop only her friend knew existed. But all those dreams had been dashed when Ashley had announced her holiday trip.

Tracy frowned. Socializing came so easily to Ashley. She had a ton of friends. They were always coming by the apartment to pick her up. Ashley never invited her on those outings. Tracy always felt sort of bad about that, but also kind of relieved. Hanging out in a crowd made her nervous. Maybe her roommate realized that, as she always made special time for her.

Tracy finished her dinner and found her eyes wandering to the package on the kitchen counter. If it didn’t belong to her roommate then it had to be intended for one of her neighbors. She might be resigned to having a crappy Christmas, but that didn’t mean whoever was missing this package had to.

She got up and walked over, carefully picking the tape off the stiff paper in the hopes she might be able to re-wrap it after her investigation. Maybe there was a letter or gift receipt inside that could give some hint as to who it belonged to so she could deliver it to its rightful owner.

Inside she found a simple hand crafted wooden box. The lid was tight, but with a little tugging she got it off. The scent of dried flowers and incense came wafting out. It reminded her of those new age shops Ashley frequented.

Carefully she lifted out the contents. She unwound the thick linen cloth wrapping and a pair of sunglasses rolled out into the palm of her hand.

The sunglasses were incredibly ornate. The frames looked to be made of bronze and were cut out to resemble thorny vines. Tiny metal flowers bloomed around the oval lenses. The glasses were tinted the prettiest shade of pink.

Tracy let out a short laugh. This must be one of those prank gifts. Someone was quite literally giving someone else rose colored glasses. She dug around in the box and shook out the linen, looking for a card or a receipt, but she found nothing.

Tracy set the glasses down on the counter beside the box. Maybe tomorrow she could ask the apartment office. Let them sort it out.

She snorted again. Rose colored glasses! Tracy thought of Ashley’s text and her prompt to ‘see something new’. It couldn’t hurt to take a selfie with them, right? It would be incredibly funny to send to Ashley. Tell her she was doing her best to see the world in a ‘new light’ while she was gone.

Tracy picked up the glasses and put them on. She grabbed her cell phone and headed towards the bathroom, already contemplating sassy poses to strike in the mirror. But as she passed by the window something caught her eye.

The moon was absolutely huge. It was so full and bright that she was drawn out onto the third story balcony without even realizing she had opened the sliding glass doors. Despite the bright lights of the city, she could clearly see all the twinkling stars dotting the night sky. Wispy clouds twirled high in the heavens with little shimmers of rose, emerald, and amethyst against a silky, navy blue backdrop.

Tracy stared up in awe. These must be some of those new technologically advanced lenses. The ones she saw advertised on television that helped you drive better at night.

She completely forgot about sending Ashley a selfie.

*****

The next morning Tracy decided to wear the glasses on her ride to work, curious what affect the high-tech lenses would have during the day. She leaned her forehead against the window of the city bus and stared out in amazement. Edges were crisper, colors richer. She noticed flowers planted in places she had completely ignored before.

At her stop a tree was covered in exotic looking butterflies. Tracy wondered if they were migrating, climate change and all of that. Her phone alarm chimed and she quickly slid the glasses into her purse and jogged the couple of blocks to work.

*****

For the first time in forever, Tracy decided to not head directly home after work. Instead, she put on the glasses and wandered the streets of downtown. The butterflies were gone but the flowers, in their little cement beds, still looked as vibrant as before. Hiding among their leaves were odd little bugs which managed to be creepy and fascinating at the same time.

She noticed a small restaurant tucked into an alleyway. On the rare occasion that she did eat out, Tracy normally stuck to the big chains, but the door was blocked open and delicious smells enticed her inside.

As soon as she entered however, she decided to get her meal to go. The other patrons were all dressed in strange costumes. One of those sci-fi conventions must be in town again. They all turned to stare at her like she was the weird one.

Embarrassed, Tracy kept her attention on the menu even after her order had been placed. Judging by the odd names, the restaurant appeared to cater to a diverse crowd. Foreign dishes she couldn’t pronounce were listed right alongside hamburgers and fries. Thankfully the wait wasn’t long. The waitress seemed as uncomfortable as she was and rushed her order out to her.

Tracy enjoyed her burger and fries on a nearby park bench. The food was amazing, so was the drink. She’d ordered a soda but they had accidentally given her some sort of fruit slushy instead. She usually avoided cold treats, as they had triggered headaches in the past, but she decided to chance it this time.

A movement in the bushes caught her eye. She squinted into the foliage. A small deer hid there. It must be terrified, stuck in a city park with all the busy streets surrounding it! The poor animal was deformed too. It was missing one of its horns and the remaining one sat askew on its forehead.

Tracy’s head began to pound and her vision became blurry. Maybe the frozen drink hadn’t been such a good idea. She slipped the glasses off and rubbed her watering eyes.

On the bus ride home she called animal control to report the deer.

*****

When Tracy woke up on Saturday she realized that at some point while silencing her morning alarm she had actually silenced her entire phone. It was already noon and, while she had the weekend off from work, she had several missed calls from her roommate. Ashley hadn’t left any voicemails. Just text messages.

The first read, “Tracy call me back asap. It’s important.”

Then, “Tracy please call me NOW. I need to talk to you.”

And the most recent, “Are you OK? Please call me. Do you still have that package?”

Tracy was alarmed and called Ashley immediately. It went straight to voicemail. She tried sending a text.

“Tried to call. No service again? I am fine. I still have the package. Do you know who it belongs to?”

A few minutes later a text came in. “Package is mine. Didn’t expect it to be dropped off. Please put on my bed.”

Tracy’s heart sunk a little. She had been looking forward to wearing them again today. Maybe she still could? She’d saved the paper wrapping...her roommate never had to know she had borrowed them, right?

Tracy dug around in one of her drawers until she found an old sunglasses case. She’d just be extra careful with them.

*****

Tracy descended the long staircase to the bottom floor of her apartment building. The sounds of a scuffle and children’s voices drew her attention to the strip of woods that ran along the backside of the building. She blinked, disbelieving. In the grass a mob of rats faced off with a flock of pigeons.

The vermin wore little saddles. On their backs tiny men screamed at each other and waved tiny swords. Almost in unison, they all turned to look at her. Then they charged.

Tracy ran back up the stairs and, after a few terrifying seconds of fighting with her keys, managed to unlock the door and slam it behind her. She bolted both sets of locks and slid the security chain into place just as several small bodies thudded against the wood.

Immediately the room flared to life with blue script. The writing moved fluidly over the walls, floor, and even the ceiling. It twined darkest around the doors and windows.

Tracy attempted to peek out of the peephole, but the sunglasses got in her way. She slid them down her nose and peered out. There was nothing there, even though the door shook under several more assaults and she clearly heard a tiny squeal of pain.

Tracy glanced around the room, the blue glow she thought she had seen was also gone. Confused and panicked, Tracy darted behind the couch. The sunglasses slid further down her nose and instinctively she pushed them back up. Again, the room lit up.

Tracy sank down behind the couch and looked around the apartment. She had no idea what was going on. Had she been drugged? She dialed the first person she thought of.

Tracy was relieved to hear her roommate pick up.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes! Ashley, I need your help! I think I’ve been drugged.”

Instead of the concern she had expected, her roommate sighed and asked tentatively, “Did you put the glasses on, Tracy?”

“Yes...but how did you...”

“Tell me what happened.”

Tracy told her about the creatures chasing her. The whole thing sounded even crazier out loud.

“Is the door locked? The special lock. The one I added when I moved in?”, her roommate responded, sounding calm and completely unphased by the insanity she had just spewed at her.

“Yes...” Tracy paused, and then added. “the one that makes the room glow blue?”

“That would be the one.” Ashley paused and Tracy could picture her pinching the bridge of her nose.

“OK, listen to me very carefully. I need you to stay in the apartment. Whatever you do, do not leave. I am going to head home right now. I’ll be there in about an hour.”

“Wait, where are you? You sent me that picture with all the snow. It doesn’t snow here...”

“I’m...that’s not important right now. I’ll explain everything later. Just promise me you won’t leave the apartment, OK? Now that you’ve seen them they’ll have taken notice of you. Most of them are completely harmless, but some of them can be really dangerous, especially if you don’t know what you are dealing with.”

“So...I wasn’t drugged?”

“No Tracy, you weren’t drugged. Those glasses are...special.”

“When you said you wanted me to go out and see something new…I didn’t think you meant this.” Tracy tried to laugh, but even she could hear the bit of madness in her voice.

“No, I was thinking more like a concert or a museum.” Her roommate chuckled. “I’ll be there soon.”