Soul Flower

“I can’t believe you left without our permission, I hope you realize how hard this is on us. Be safe.” My dad texted me that right as I had to turn in my phone at the neighborhood entrance. I’m glad I didn’t see his text. This normal sized neighborhood was everything but normal, only allowing the exact number of 888 people inside at all times you have to be invited to enter. Around the town many myths and theories spread through my city of what goes on in this neighborhood, but no one knows what happens. That’s why my parents disapproved of me going when I first got the letter. I got multiple letters, but I never saw them because my parents would throw them out. I felt nice and figured I would grab the mail for my family since all the trouble I had been putting them through because of laziness and the fogginess I felt. The negativity that I brought upon myself clouded my mind. I had just flunked out of my freshman year of junior college, couldn’t work at a job for over 3 months without getting fired, so when I saw the letter I felt something. Inside of me brought a feeling this must be the place that would ‘fix me’ and get me on track to success.

 The title of the letter said “Where Anything is Possible,” A little corny thinking back to it, but at the time of reading the letter I believed in the words and felt special reading it. The first part gave me the address and the rest said, “July 1st, we welcome you to the Blueberry neighborhood. Upon entering the premise, we will take any possessions you bring besides your clothing. Upon entering the answers you seek will come to find you, see the beauty in life, yourself, and realize that even the unimaginable is possible.” I felt at peace reading this, believing every word with no clue why I believed it. At the bottom of the page it states, “P.S, if you feel something deep down thinking about Blueberry then this is the place for you.” 

I gave myself a few days to think, everyday I felt butterflies in my stomach from the thought of the place. I thought I was going crazy, but deep down there was nothing stopping from at least trying this place out. Except my parents… Even at 19 years of age, I still lived with them and listened to their rules instead of becoming a man. June 15th, they disapproved of the idea of me going without hearing me out. Terrified that I got ahold of the letter and terrified I was considering it, we got into a heated argument the whole day about it. Letters stopped coming which leads into June 30th the first day of my new job at the old man’s work. I wasn’t working, so he took matters into his own hands by getting me a job. A lousy job stocking shelves for a grocery store, he managed. After an hour of working, I felt horrible and could only think how happy I will be when I get fired. 

Then I realized. Go to the Blueberry neighborhood. They requested me to go there July 1st, so I still have time. I finished my 7 hour shift happily, knowing I’m on my way to a new life. Carpooling with my father back to our house he asked me how my first day at his work was, I smiled brightly and told him it was great. I sold it well while making up funny stories about customers in the store. 

As soon as I got home, I went to my room to create a plan of how I’m going to do this. I can’t take the car. My parents are pretty light sleepers, so even late at night they might wake up. Blueberry is around 3 miles away. I guess I will walk there. I didn’t want to bring my phone, but I’ll need it for GPS. Through the next few hours I acted natural around my family, just trying to talk to them more than usual before I go. As it got later, my anxiety was getting bad. It was a little different from being in high school sneaking out to a party. I was sneaking out to somewhere I’ve never been before. People considered this place an entirely unknown world in the myths I’ve heard, and they chose me to enter. This must be the place where I can figure out what makes me a special person. Knowing I can’t keep anything besides clothing, I grabbed some khaki joggers, nice Nike Jordan 1’s, a white shirt, and a blue jacket I figured would fit well with the name blueberry. Before I got my clothes, I wrote a letter for my parents so they at least knew where I went. I put it on my nightstand and opened my window to begin my journey. 50 minutes later of walking through the rain I made it now I just have to wait until the morning time. At least that’s what I thought, As soon as I got there around 12:03 in the morning the doors opened. A man walked out dressed in clothes that looked like he made them in the 1600s. His dark brown hair is similar in style as George Washington as well. He greets me, then showing me a paper asking for reassurance this was my name “Newcomers: Jonesiere, Bradley,” 

“That is me, what is your name?” I said. 

“Don’t worry about my name Bradley, just call me Ver.” He said

Ver let me know of the beauty of this world. He barely referred to it as a neighborhood, even though from the outside it looks like all the other neighborhoods in my city. Explaining to me the unbelievable history of this place full of magical events since the year 888. I wondered if his apparel was so old because he has been around for hundreds of years. That couldn’t be possible though. “It’s true.” He said, I wondered why he randomly said that. Ver explained that as my guide he can read my mind, so he was simply responding to my thoughts about his age. He went on telling me there are 88 members of Blueberry who chose to never age. 44 on the west side and 44 on the east. It peacefully split blueberry into two sides. It wasn’t a divided place, all that mattered was if you were in the East you’re going to see people from the east more often than west. However, there is the middle common ground where everyone can go for anything they desire with anyone. At the time of hearing this everything was going past my head, I had to see it for myself to understand this world better. The entrance room had a few beds, so I was told to get some sleep so I’m ready to wake up around 7 in the morning. So eager for the morning to come, I barely got any sleep, but I still was energetic and ready once the time neared 7.

Slumber broken up from a voice in my head telling me it was time to figure out my living situation. Turns out the voice was my guide, Ver. Still showing unbelievable abilities this world offers. My intro to this world was amazing even before leaving the entrance office. Once I walked out the office, finally stepping in the Blueberry world. The voice of my guide was there again, but not in my head: it was him speaking aloud. Focused on looking around for him, confused if he was in my head still or not.

“Look up.” he said, Ver was floating 15 feet up in the air with no sign of concern like he has done this plenty of times before. Truly amazing sight to see, his imagination coming to life all with a smile on his face. A smile that created a smile on my face as well, something I haven’t had in quite a while. He comes down, kicking his legs to maintain stability. To explain what was going to happen next, he pointed to the East than to the West. Also, telling me how he is a part of the west, but I shouldn’t choose sides based on my guide. It did however affect my decision, looking East I felt something like it was speaking to me to come. Over to the West, I didn’t feel as much of a special feeling. Since my guide was on that side swayed me to choose it because the only person I have met so far has already lit up my life so much, I want to learn from Ver as much as possible. I told him as my guide I want to go to the west to keep him as a mentor.

We went on walking towards the West without saying much. He brought me to my new living area, a nice small house with two sizable rooms, kitchen, and living room. The only problem was there was no furniture in sight and Ver never explained how I could get some. He did the exact opposite of what I was hoping. Decided to not explain anything and just told me he will be there if I truly need him. Then vanished. Well. I’m screwed, I thought to myself. 

Within a few minutes, an envelope flew through my mail slot onto the ground. Ripping open the envelope, hoping for some history or information of this place. Turns out it was just a letter saying if I have any possessions besides clothes I had to bring it to the entrance office. In the back of my mind, I figured since no one knows I brought my phone, I could just hide it. My next move was to find a place for my phone. However, that plan was to a halt. With a dazed look, I look back at the letter I placed on my counter. It was shaking around without my touch or a blow of wind. It floated in there, transforming, like an invisible person was doing origami. The shape came out to be a mouth. The letter started speaking. Sounding like a woman using a loud speakerphone, “Young Bradley, I strongly advise you to bring any possessions from the outside if you have any. To be caught with them brings a punishment you do not want, I’m sure.” 

I immediately started my walk to the entrance office once the letter stopped speaking. On the way, I didn’t see a single soul in sight. Even when I got to the office, there was no one there to take my phone. Just an empty bin that said phone drop off. Now my goal for the day was to find some people or find an area that would be nice to hang around at. The fact my house has no furniture, I could also figure out how to find some. 

I went towards the middle because I figured there surely had to be people around here. With still no one in sight, I was more focused on all the beautiful flowers around the area. Catching my attention, these beautiful colors of the flowers brought me to the garden in the common area. I walked inside of the garden. There wasn’t much inside besides a bunch of plants you could buy. However, there wasn’t anyone at the register, so I wasn’t sure if this place was closed. That thought faded quickly once I saw the outside area. I moved outside rapidly for the most gorgeous sight my eyes could ever see. Head on in the middle was a man-made waterfall with a magnolia kobus tree sprouting out from the water. Beyond the middle were three pathways going straight, left, and to the right. They made each pathway by cutting through the surrounding bushes. Seemed almost like a maze. I went to the right pathway first, then the left one soon after. Throughout each path, the most beautiful flowers scattered around everywhere. Each had a sign showcasing what their names were and where they are from. It surprised me these were real flowers, not just made in this unique world. I also didn’t know how the sight of flowers could make someone like me so happy. I enjoyed every second staring at them. They filled me with creativity and life. The more I gazed at these plants, the more I felt like I was falling into a state of meditation or ultimate relaxation. 

Scents of more astonishing plants led me back towards the final pathway. As I walked out of the left side, I realized I need to find a person to share this moment with. No one was in sight, though. I wondered if anyone lived here at all until I finally saw her. Beyond the waterfall and tree, sitting on a nice brown bench next to the final pathway, was a woman. Dressed in all black, even her shoes and hair were black. Made me wonder if she was sad. In such a colorful place like this, all black doesn’t seem a fit. As I approach her, she looks up, glancing at me. Her skin was flawless with gorgeous glistening purple eyes. When I arrived in her presence we greeted each other, I learned her name was Anallah. No sign of her sadness at all. She seemed happier than any human I’ve ever met. Especially when I asked if she wanted to walk along the pathway with me. She smiled big with a sense of joy. She told me to sit on the bench with her. Scratching my head, I sat down, seeking a new friend. 

We talked for around an hour on that bench; it seemed like only 10 minutes. Our conversation felt like we had been friends for a few years already. She explained her dark clothes were what she wore when she came to this place; it did not mean she was sad. I learned a lot about this world in our conversation. Unfortunately, it ended as she had to go. I stood up with her and pointed towards the pathway showcasing she never walked down it with me yet. She explained I didn’t need someone to go with. If it makes me happy, I should experience it alone at first, to understand your genuine emotions. Anallah began walking out, saying she will see me soon. By the time I shifted my head from the path back towards her, she wasn’t there. I understood what she said, so I walked through that path with nothing but joy. Filled with life once again, this pathway had its own uniqueness compared to the others. Even with similar structures, all the flowers were totally different with all with their own meaning inside of them. My time here was ending. Now walking back towards the exit, I reflected on the past 2 hours. These 2 hours showed me the beauty of nature, something I never looked at before coming to Blueberry. On my way back to my house, I noticed I had a smile on my face. The entire day I’ve had it, which never used to happen. Another surprise on the way was Ver and Anallah across the road chatting. I didn’t want to bother them so I kept on walking towards my home, but that didn’t last long. Ver’s voice popped into my head, telling me to come over to them. I had a long face merely because I was sick of Ver joining my brain’s server. However, I figured maybe it was to help, not to overthink, or think at all. Him reading my mind definitely helped me get out of my head. I jogged across, waving at them. We had a quick chat, but they had to leave for individual projects they were working on. So suddenly I had to be by myself again, and I lost my smile. Ver viewing my expression proposed an idea that I would have them over later tonight. My eyes lit up. I Agreed telling them to come over whenever they finished. Such an awesome plan had my smile back in place. One problem, walking back to my home, I realized: I have absolutely no furniture. I didn’t even have chairs for myself, especially not 3 people. So worried, I searched around for a store. With no luck, I was hopeless. How can I have people over with no furniture? Why didn’t I think of that when agreeing? 

Approached my doorstep praying for someone to help me out. I walked into the wrong house. At least, that’s what I thought: the address was the same as mine, but someone filled this house with beautiful furniture and decor. All the couches and chairs were straight from my mind. I had seen these before in really fancy stores before coming to Blueberry. I looked around in all the rooms. Everything was complete. My bed was the exact one from my house, even. My energy, my life, my smile, we’re all back. The quality of my life has shot up just by seeing the beauty of the actual world. This world has given me what I needed when I really needed it. Such an amazing place, bringing such an amazing feeling to my soul.