Mrs. Pumpkin's Ridiculous dream.
Based on the song by Hachi.
Hello? Hello?
La-la-la-la-la.
A loud bang. Sounds of screaming. Glass shattering. People crying out in fear. Loud alarms. All of this pooling into a vortex around me. I covered my ears, As it seemed that the place around me spun, faster, faster, Leaving this world behind, going into a new one. I felt pain, rushing straight through me... Like a runaway train, that flew off the track. But it didn't matter. I was going to move on. I didn't know where, but I could feel it inside me... I knew I was going to leave here. I released one final, loud, chilling scream...
Then darkness.
Jacarandas bloom, at a social where we all drank,
I was no longer where I was before. Wherever I was. I was no longer making noise, and earlier I swore I was screaming.
"Where am I?" I asked myself silentlly. I looked around for an answer to my question. I was sitting in a clearing of some sort of garden. Dark jacarandabushes grew up all around me, Spiraling into the air. In front of me, there was a brick walkway. And above me, The moon lay in the sky silently in a dark blue and purple sky. It looked otherworldly.
"But what world do I come from?" I thought. Yet another question. I couldn't answer that either.
"What A lot of questions!" I said aloud to the Jacaranda bushes. Who knew, I was certain that where I came from that Jacarandas didn't talk, but here they might. I waited for a few moments, but silence was the only reply from the garden. The questions I asked gave me a headace.
"One more question." I thought. "Then i'll go off to solve all these questions!" I sat for a moment, pondering what that question should be. I had so many. After thinking for a few moments, I snapped my fingers.
"I got it!" I said. "I know what to ask!"
"Who am I?" I sighed. This was an important question, but I had no idea. I looked down at myself to see if that would give me a clue.
Orange hair, placed into two pony tails. Black pants and suspenders over a white button down shirt. Whitle gloves. This just deepened the mystery of who I was even more. But I had to say, I looked pretty nice. I eased myself up, And followed the brick path. There was nothing else I could do, the Jacarandas blocked me at every other side.
The path was lovely, Jacarandas bloomed on everyside, Opening and closing their purple petals willy-nilly. After walking down the path a bit, I heard joyful noises up ahead. I ran, wanting to see the source of the noise.
I came across a small party set out on a garden table. Two odd figures sat there, A man with a Jack o' Lantern pumpkin head dressedin a fine suit, and a man with a goat head also dressed very finely. His eyes glowed a bright red color, unnerving me. The two were sipping brightly colored drinks from little glasses. There was bright grass green, blue as deep as the ocean. And candy red. A large hunk of chocolate was laid out there too.
Chocolate... I thought. It stirred something inside of me. Who ever I was, Or used to be, I remember liking chocolate. The two ate it silently, Goat-man taking only little bits, and Jack o' lantern shoving tons of the treat into his mouth. I wondered if I should approach their party. I saw two extra chairs, which Jack kept glancing at inbetween bites of chocolate. I felt a bit shy though. Should I take a chair? Are they waiting for someone else? The smell of chocolate reached my nose.
Delicious!
And well, The pumpkin-man didn't seem to bad. But Goat-man was kind of scary, Even though he wasn't looking at me with his terrible red eyes, I still felt as if they were boring into me. But I mustered my courage, and approached the party. I took shaky steps as I walked towards them.
"Maybe I should just go, I wasn't invited..." I thought. But it was too late, I was already very close to their table. I was just about to back up into the Jacarandas, But Pumpkin man noticed me.
"Ahaha! ! How lovely to finally meet you!" The man said excitedly. "Take a seat! if you don't know already, my name is Jack! As in Jack O' Lantern!" I stood, frozen, while he beckoned to a waiting wrought-iron chair. He talked like I was his old friend, but I didn't remember him. I slowly sat down in it, pulling it up to the table. Goat-man cleared his throat.
"Why so lovely Jack? She's just another soul...She's just decided to stay awhile..." A soul? What was that? Is that what I was? And I was staying awhile? I looked around, and decided that if I had to stay here, at least it wouldn't be so bad. The flowers were pretty, and Jack was sort of nice. Jack spoke again.
"Well, I know that, but a few only come by at a time, and she seemed more agreeable then those others." He sighed. "They always almost choose life right away, never waiting." That rose more questions. What did he mean by that? Maybe I should ask these two. I looked at them. Jack made no reply to this one, except shoving more chocolate into his hole of a mouth. He looked at me quizzicaly. And the goat-man payed no attention to me at all, just sipping a drink as bright red as his eyes. Jack looked at me again.
"Take a drink! Eat! Sing with us!" He insisted. I felt to uncomfortable to take anything yet, but I pointed at the empty chair.
"Who's chair is that?" I asked. Jack laughed.
"Old turnip-head of course! Now come, this isn't a party without celebrating!"
Where can we go from here? Happily sing a sad song.
I ate a bit of the chocolate. It was very rich and tasty, one of the best that i've had. I put a piece in my pocket, to eat later. It would be an especially nice treat, I loved the chocolate so much. I took a sip from a blue drink, and found it to taste like blueberrys and toast. It was a really weird drink, but it was wonderful. After feeling comfortable with the company of pumpkin-head, or as I now know him, Jack, And Goat-man, who still hadn't given his name. But that was one question I did not want to ask, he was so scary. After a few moments in silence- They both made barely anynoise when they ate, And compared to it my chewing seemed very loud and obnoxious, like a lion chewing among men. I then decided to pour my three most important questions into him.
"Jack?" I said. He perked up.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Where am I?" I asked him. He paused for a great while, holding a hunk of chocolate between his teeth. He silently swallowed.
"You are in the soul way. This is where people go when they are not dead...Yet not living. I'm the conducter of the soul trains that run through here...Sometimes they stopped like you did, and stay here, falling off the train...Now you have to decide whether you want life, or death. Think of it as trains going back and forth, and this is the station between two points." I thought about this for a bit. I didn't know what that really meant.
"Where did I come from?" I asked. Jack raised a hollow eye, as if it were an eyebrow.
"Where all souls come from, Earth. I've been there often. It's a very strange place." I nodded. The word 'Earth' brought back memories of a green and blue place, where the sky was a different color than what this sky was. I then asked my last question.
"Who am I?" I asked. Jack laughed.
"Well, when turnip head comes here, we'll discuss that...And what train you will board. Now, enough of this matter, let's sing until he comes here. Goat? Are you going to sing too?" The goat shook his head angrily. "You're no fun. But here, we have a guest, we get to sing!" He then stood up on a chair, holding a fiddle which just came out of his pocket. I didn't see how it fit in such a tiny pocket.
"You can sing, Miss, can't you?" He asked, tuning the fiddle. I nodded. I remember singing a bit on Earth. Or did I? Any memory would fit now. He played a few notes on the fiddle, testing the sound. When he seemed satisfied, he turned to me.
"You should like this tune! A happy, happy beat! just sing along with me!"
Jack was smirking, "Put aside your heretical feelings."
We sang a sad, sad, song. It filled me with deppression. And somehow, anger. I was getting tired of not knowing who I was. I wanted answers, answers now.
"Jack!" I said, making him stop the music. "Who am I? Where am I going? Tell me now!" I screamed at him. He smirked.
"You're a feisty one, aren't you. Just wait, hold those feelings. You'll be told soon, wait, and sing with me, come on miss.
Now give me all your chocolate! Cry a song of humble birth.
We sang more, songs about lost lovers, large oceans, anything. But Jack stopped and ate more of the chocolate which seemed to never dissapear even though Jack had eaten tons. I thought about the songs that he sang, especially one about someone from 'humble birth' that meets a princess.
"Jack? What's humble birth?" I asked. Jack swallowed his chocolate.
"It's when you're born to a low part of society, someone not as rich." The goat coughed.
"Jack happens to be from a very poor family. Aren't you, Pumpkin head?" Jack scowled.
"I don't need to be reminded, goat. And anyways miss. You heard the song. Man of humble birth climbs up to meat one of noble birth, and falls in love... It's a great song, In my opinion." I nodded, agreeing with him. That one he played with extra gusto, playing the fiddle as fast as he could. He looked to the side.
"Oh! turnip head!"
A scarecrow came by here, being smothered while he swayed.
The scarecrow rocked back and forth, swaying in the wind. His turnip head rocked back and forth along with it, his tattered jacket billowing out in the wind
"Hello, hello? I've come to the party!" He said in an echoey, empty voice, like whistling through his hollow turnip head mournfully.
"Do we have a guest that is staying for a bit?" He asked, as he saw Ms. Pumpkin. He hoisted the pole that held him up over the chair, sort of sitting, in a way. I remembered. Now Jack had to tell me who I was.
"Turnip head is here! Jack you need to tell me who I am!" I demanded. Jack turned to the turnip head.
"Turnip, you want to help us? It's time to guide another." Turnip laughed, yet it still made a mournfully whispy noise.
"Always ready to help a friend Jack, you know I am."
He's never had it but he hates pumpkin pie...
"Do we need to go to the train station Jack? It's a very long journey just to get their from the Garden."
"I fully intend to. We'll take the train i'll-" I interupted Jack.
"Jack, Can you please tell me what's going on?" I asked. Curiosity was eating me up. And the two were being so vague. Jack sighed.
"Better sooner than later, I guess. Ms. Pumpkin, You are a Wandering Soul." I rocked my head back and forth, thinking of the meaning of these words.
"What does that mean, Jack?" I asked. He stood up, pushing his chair in, then leaned over, holding his head with one of his white-gloved hands, looking directly at me...Or into me?
"Well, when people die, there are souls..." He said mysteriously. My eyes widened.
"Am... I dead... too?" I asked. Before, I didn't think I was dead, just in a different place. He laughed.
"No, no Ms. Pumpkin! You aren't dead!" He said jolily. I sighed, relieved by this news. "... But you're not alive either." He finished. I turned pale white.
"Then what am I?" I asked. He gave an irratated sigh.
"For the last time, You are a Wandering Soul. Someone who is in between life and death, and arrives here in Limbo. He produced a map, seemingly out of nowhere, just as he was able to take out his fiddle. He laid the map before me, It was large, made of golden parchment and showed the lands in great detail. I looked at it, It seemed to be divided into 4 sections. "Gardens." "Train station." "City." And finally, "Waste." Train tracks ran through the map, dividing it into even more pieces. And as I walked, They actually began moving across the page, chugging and running along the tracks. I saw many different types of trains, to old coal powered to the modern subway. The regions were very different to each other too. The gardens were lush and colorful, covered not only in the purple jacarandas, but different flowers, otherworldly and glowing. She even saw Jack, Turnip head, Goat, and myself sitting at a table. I looked towards "Train station." It was a large station, a giant dark building, with little trains running over it, tiny mechanical cities, where little wind-up creatures wandered around on.
"Where does the train station do?" I asked. Jack tilted his head.
"What all train stations do. Carry trains, to and fro, from here to there. Thats where you need to decide, to become a Living Soul, or to become a Free Soul. And, to find out how you came to be in Limbo, how you died and became a Wanderer." He looked above himself. "You're time is running out to decide anyways." I looked. The moon was up there, hanging omniously. Inside of it, there was a pair of closed eyes.
But they were slowly opening.
A chill went through my body. It was pretty creepy. I disticntly remember the moon from where I came from not having a face. That I knew for sure. Jack spoke again.
Hey la-lu-la-luh-la do you want to dance with me? After all the moon is still slumbering...
"As long as the moon is asleep...You can stay here. Until then, we can continue to Dance through Limbo. Now finish up looking at the map, we need to leave and get to the train station so you can choose where to go." I looked at the map hurriedly, not admiring every little aspect of it like I did before. I looked at the city. It was the same as the mechanical objects and people that lined the train station. The entire thing moved like a giant piece of clockwork. Jack began tapping his foot impatiently. I quickly looked at the waste. Unlike the other regions, It was not carved by trains. It was just blank empty space, of dark clouds that shifted and billowed. Before I could examine it any closer, Jack picked up the map from under me, rolled it up, and twisted it in his hands and snapped his fingers, making it dissapear into thin air.
"I think you have looked at my map long enough, Ms. Pumpkin. It's time to go." The rest of the party nodded and stood, Goat picking himself up last. He made a move towards me, whispering in my ear.
"I... Have the best choice of your , Fate Miss. Why not choose me, and accept death quietly before Jack becomes too attached to you." Jack quickly noticed what he was doing.
"Goat... I think It's time to go, isn't it?" He asked, scowling at him.
"Oh, of course... Jack, what was I thinking? But, you see, the lady had a question-"
"Another one?"
"Yes.. She wanted to know who is who... you know." Jack's face fell. He clenched his sharp teeth together.
"Ah, yes. I forgot." He turned around and gestured to the others in the group with a flourishing hand. "Mr. Turnip head here is ruler of life, He is the Gate keeper, one of the guiding Angels from The high halls of Heaven." I was confused. When I heard the word "Angel" I envisioned a beautiful person with wings. Not a scarecrow with a turnip head.
"Goat here... He's not exactly an Angel." Goat scoffed.
"Yes, I'm definitely not." He said, then now coming up to whisper in my ear. "And Jack here is a banished Angel... forced to rule this land." He smiled. So you see, I know you have gotten attached to him... Know that you will never bring him with you anywhere you want to go." I thought about this. I wasn't... too attached to him, was I? Did the Goat have anything planned? But it was interesting hearing about this. I guessed angels could take on other forms, or something. Jack looked very angry.
"Why... Don't we get... On the train?" He said through clenched teeth. we walked through the bushes quietly, and found themselves right in front of train tracks. I looked down and saw that what I thought was moist earth littered with flower petals a second ago was now a concrete floor. I decided to ignore this, and looked down the train tracks. I saw only purple clouds that covered the tracks, billowing and moving around. Slowly, silently, a train rolled out from it. It wasn't an old steam powered one where smoke billows out, just a modern bullet train. Silently it rolled up beside the station, and the doors slid open, silently as well. Jack beconded me forward, gesturing into the door.
"Ladies first..." I stepped inside. Even though we had stepped inside of the first car, I could see all the way down the train as if it were a bus. Though I could swear that I had stepped into a train split up into different cars. But what was even more interesting were the people on the train. I looked to the conducter. He was some sort of balloon man, with a face scribbled on him that kept moving and scribbling around. He was wearing overalls, covered in patchwork pockets. Smoke poured out of some, others had tiny mechanical animals running in and out of. I looked at his control panel. Just gears. I couldn't see how to drive it. Jack, Goat, and Turnip-head stepped behind me. The balloon headed man looked up lazily. He opened an indentation in his balloon face, and he whispered out something high pitched and strange, that sounded like air escaping a balloon. Jack nodded as if he understood. He grabbed our hands.
"We have to go to the back." He said. We walked down the aisle. Strange people were on either side, from people with flowers for hands, and someone with a calculator for a head, working out a long equation. Everyone on the train turned to us as we walked past, but no one made a noise. It was deathly quiet inside. Not even the train moved, though we could feel it moving under us. We kept moving, while heads kept turning to watch us. We settled at a threadbare old ratty seat in the back.
("You said? You said?" said a little turnip head) Now you see that there is no longer the coffin, And how boring is that
Right when we settled down into our ratty seats the voices began, whispering and talkinng, probably about us. It made me feel uncomfortable. I shakily turned to Jack, who was looking out the window, in to smokey blue purple clouds.
"Jack... Where do these trains go? And what are these people with us?" I asked. He tilted his head almost all the way to the side, in an odd manner.
"This train goes to the train station, then on to the afterlife. But don't worry, we are just going to stop at the train station, we won't move on before your descision. And the people... They're dead, and moving on." I thought about this a bit.
"Then do we look like this after we die?" He nodded. "But then you can become anything you want on the other side... Or so i've been told." I looked around.
"It's dark and gloomy on this train." Jack looked suprised at my comment. He snapped his fingers.
"Really? I never noticed..." I looked around. Instead of seeing the dusty train interior from before, It was a magnificent dance hall, with tiny lights floating around, and colorful paper lanterns floated too, the tiny gears covering them, moving about, making them look like they were living. The people in the train didn't seem suprised at all. They had began dancing happily, as if nothing had happened. The man with a calculator head waltzed past us, holding a whispy red dress with no body inside of it, except for a green apple that floated above it. A golden carpet laid on the floor, shimmering and sparkling, moving like an ocean beneath the feet that moved atop it. And music seemed to be resonating from the walls of the train itself. Jack was somehow on his feet already, grinning, and standing in front of me, offering his white-gloved hand.
"Ms. Pumpkin... Wan to begin the dance with me?" He asked, his sharp orange teeth still in a wide grin.
Blah la la la Happy days.
We moved slowly through the sea of dancers, in a calm and careful way, cutting through the others who danced. I found myself at the center of them, Jack in my arms, as we slowly rocked back and forth. I pressed my head against his chest, and I felt calm, his chest was steady, I could feel his heart beating softly. We walked back and forth for a few moments, until he placed his hand around the back of her neck gently, and looked into my face. My heart began to beat fast, and I blushed. He was being so kind to me... After a while, he spoke.
"Do you like this... Ms. Pumpkin?" He asked softly. I thought about everything. I had loved it... And did I love him, too?
"Yes... I do... It's wonderful, Jack!" I said brightly. He smiled warmly down at me. I smiled back, then I noticed a black figure standing behind him.
It was goat, grinning with malice, his red eyes filled with sadistic glee. A shiver ran down my arm. Jack noticed this.
"Are you cold, Miss?" He asked, and before I could reply, he had draped a soft coat over my back, seemingly coming from nowhere yet again. It was black and shiny, and seemed to be lined on the inside with something very soft, almost like a fur. I found myself sitting at a side table in the next second, Sitting next to Jack, who had an arm draped over my shoulder. I realized that this was where our old chairs were, but instead of the ratty seats, they were shining, velvet cushions lined with red, so shiny it reflected my face. We sat there in agreeable silence, until I decided to tell him about goat.
"Goat was looking at me... In a strange way." I whispered softly into his ear. He tensed. "Also, what is he? He isn't an angel, and he isn't a soul.." I whispered again. He became even more tense, his teeth clenching. He whispered back to me,
"He... Is a demon. He tries to drag all the souls to Hell... He tries to make my life hell, too. Dragging off any soul who I become close too... And I think he has been planning for you... But I can't help it." This confused me.
"What do you mean, you can't help it?" I whispered softly.
"I... Used to be an angel. I was banished for being to lustful, a capital sin. My fate was then set to be sent here to be master of Limbo, and conducter of the Trains. ... With a curse set by the Goat-demon. Whatever Soul Wandered here, I would fall in love in... But they could never stay with me.." He said sadly. "There were others, before you. A woman who was headstrong and bold, A girl who was energetic and kind... Even a man who was quiet and humble... I fell in love with them, But they never fell in love with me, adding to my hurt and torture..." He stopped for a moment, and I could swear he was sobbing, a noise was coming from inside his pumpkin head.
"Miss... Pumpkin... Do... You love me?" He asked quietly. I thought this over. It was such a personal question, I couldn't tell what to say. My throat choked up.
"Yes." I said quietly, closing my eyes, saying my words very sincerely. His eyes fluttered shut, and he gave a sigh of relief, and snapped his fingers again.
"I don't think that does any good for the both of us, Ms. Pumpkin." I opened my eyes, and we were back on the train, a dark, dusty old train where all the strange people quietly, acting as if nothing happened. I looked across the dark aisles, and saw myself looking into Goat's evil red eyes, full of contempt of me. We sat for a few minutes like this, and I leaned my head on Jack's shoulder, breathing in deeply. And I could still fell Goat's eyes boring into me. But I didn't care about what he had planned for me, or for Jack. I was beginning to like the pumpkin head more and more as I stayed with him. I wanted to stay here forever.
After a while, we arrived at the train station. Me and Jack walked back down the aisle, and those on the train still stared at us as we slowly came by. Turnip head bounced behind us, quiet and indifferent as always, and the Goat came behind him, his head low, eyes full of hate. We stepped off the train, and into the train station.
It was more impressive in person than it was on the map. Instead of seeing the dark building from before, It was lit up, Covered in gears that were whirling and spinning glowing bright rainbow colors, rotating around a large clock set into the front of the building, Whose towers seemed to go up and up and up into the face of the clock glowed a soft yellow. The hands on It were spinning around, And I saw that they were hands, Giant marble ones. I thought that something this large I would have seen on Jack's map.
"Jack, What happened to this building? On the map it looked very plain, just covered in those gears." I said. Jack laughed.
"The train station is always changing his shape. Always tries to impress me with something new when I come. On time, It was a circus tent made of candy." This confused me. Buildings couldn't change their shape like that so easily, It would take years. But I didn't question this, forgetting what he said. What I was questioning was his change in mood. He was pretty stressed before. I looked at him. He was back to grinding his teeth, and was messing with the white gloves on his hands. And then I saw why.
The moon's eyes had started to open. They were almost halfway open all the way, even a bit of the iris was showing. I saw one brown eye on the left, one blue eye on the right. Even as I watched, It moved a little bit more. A chill went through my body.
"Uh..." I said uncertainly. "Let's go inside." I suggested. He nodded.
"I fear the moon may awake soon... But for now, we need to watch how you came close to death, so that we can help you decide where to go from here." That was interesting.
"Watch my death?" I asked. Jack quickly corrected me.
"We're not watching your death. We are watching your near death. If you had died, then you would have not been able to Wander into Limbo. After we watch It, You should have a better idea of if you want life or death. Now, we need to go inside." He said. I looked at the train station. No doors, no windows, Just the giant clock, with the arms spinning wildly.
"How are we supposed to get in?" I asked. Turnip head came up suddenly behind me.
"Oh, don't you see, It's simple. We just have to ask the train station and he'll let us in." This was even more confusing. I walked up to the face of the giant clock.
"Um..." I said, not used to the way that I should adress a building. "Can you let us in?" I asked, my voice faultering. A large moan was heard from the building, and the two arms spun wildly, spinning around so fast that I was afraid they would spin off like a helicopter, and crash through the glass, crushing us. But instead, there was a loud click, and the arms stopped, pointing to where the 12 and the 3 should have been, but It had been relabeled "Open door." And it did just that, the clock face pulling back into the building. I looked to the back of me. Turnip head and Jack looked at me expectantly, while Goat seemed angry and indifferent.
"We should head inside." I said. And without saying what they had decided on, I walked inside. I heard their footsteps behind me as I walked into the entrance, and into the black space.
We walked for a little bit, surrounded by blackness, Until we came to a great sparkling room.
Everywhere I looked there was gold. It was huge, with marble columns lining the sides. There were gears on the back wall, spinning and turning, and powering gleaming ivory trains that went back and forth, sparkling in all different colors. In the center there was a giant clock, just as the same as the one in the outside, only smaller, and it rotated on a golden pedestal, throwing shiny colors everywhere. It took a long time to take it all in, the glittering colors, the gold, the trains, everything. I stood there for only a few moments, not daring to move. Then I took a tiny step forward. Then another. and another. Then I ran to the center of the room, spinning and laughing, Looking at all the beautiful things around me. Somehow, while I was spinning, I had joined hands with Jack, Turnip head, and Goat, as we spun around, Turnip and Jack laughing, while Goat stayed silent and angry, his red eyes burning. After a bit of this, we became to dizzy, and me and Jack and Goat collapsed on the ground, Me laying between them, laughing. Goat stood over us.
"Now, no more time for this frivolous nonsense. We need to move on to what happened to Ms. Pumpkin that brought her here." Jack nodded soberly.
"Yes, the viewing area is on that wall behind us." He said. I looked at the wall he was talking about. There wasn't any screen or anything, just the turning gears.
"How are we supposed to watch it?" I asked. Jack pointed to the screen, then snapped his fingers, and the golden gears began to spin faster and faster, until they produced a warm golden glow, like a sheen over the gears, that grew brighter and more solid by the second, like a screen. I walked towards it fascinated. Jack, Turnip and Goat came up behind me.
"The picture should form in a bit... It will show the moments before your death." It had started to form some sort of picture, and I watched, entranced.
We feel fabricated magic at a transmission tower, Witch under overpass, she appears to be dazed
It showed me, a young woman, sitting on a train with a man, talking and laughing. Only I was different, I wasn't wearing the same clothes as I was now instead I was just wearing a casual skirt and T-shirt. I seemed to be very happy. The scene changed to the front of the train.
There was a woman there, the conducter. Only, she wasn't doing anything. She sat there, dazed, and drunk. She fell over in her chair, and the train continued to speed on.
It cut to another image, a control tower that was mapping the trains. It looked like two trains, a blue track, and a yellow track were about to collide. The people in the tower were looking at the screen were panicking, calling into a microphone.
"Track Blue, Are you there? Track blue? Are you there? Track blue?" The man using the phone turned around to face the others.
"They're not picking up!" he said, panicked.
"Try track yellow. We need to let them know what's going on!" A woman suggested. The man dialed another number, and picked up the phone.
"Track yellow, Track yellow? are you there?"
"Yes, I'm here." was the reply. "What's going on?" asked the voice.
"A collision. Track blue is coming straight for you, do you know what's going on?" The voice on the onther end became panicked.
"What? A collision?" he asked. I looked back up at the map, and saw that the two trains were only a few yards apart. "Oh no! -" the voice on the other end, before it went silent, and a loud crunching noise was heard, and it went silent. The people at the control station looked at each other in shock. The woman's jaw dropped, and someone muttered a quick prayer, and it was silent.
Now the picture was back on the train. I saw the wreakage of the crash, hundreds of people dead or dying, laying around covered in blood. Glass was everywhere, and the picture zoomed in on a body.
Me.
The man from before was standing over me, and I saw that he had shielded me. He twitched a little bit, and looked down on me. He was covered in cuts, bruises, and his legs were covered and crushed by a large piece of the train. He brushed the hair away from my face, and planted a kiss on my head. He passed out, but he was still breathing, but only slightly.
After a few moments, ambulances arrived at the scene, picking up and seperating the bodies that were not too badly mangled. They picked up me, and the man. He was still breathing, and they immediately set him and me up on some sort of machine, and drove us away.
The screen faded to black. And I found myself in some sort of rage.
"Who was that man?" I thought. He seemed to love me. I began to sob, I didn't know what to do, between him, that man that I don't remember, yet feel for, and Jack, who had been so kind to me. I turned to Jack, holding him tight, and sobbing. He seemed suprised at this at first, then held me closer.
Jack said pompously, "Continue with vulgar feelings!" The devil's trumpet bloomed, as if it were in rage.
"You saw that other man, didn't you?" He said sadly. "I was hoping there was no one else from your life." he was silent for a while. "It is all right for you to feel this way... I know how hard it is." we were quiet for a little while longer, until Goat broke the mood.
"How... how sappy was that... now..." I looked up, and saw that his eyes were burning, and he held a ball of fire in his hand, with an evil smile on his face. I saw that he must have attacked turnip head, for he was laying on the floor, his suit singed. " Miss, I am going to take you to Hell... WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" He threw a ball of fire at me, and I ducked out of the way, feeling the heat of the fire. Jack held me behind him, staring down Goat.
"You should not be doing this, Goat. You know it breaks the rules of death." He said. Goat laughed.
"I know, Jack, but I think it would be fun to torture you by sending your only companion for such a long, long, time to hell. And i'm willing to break the rules of death to do so." He said. "Now hold still, so that I may burn you with my hellfire... you don't want to end up like Turnip-head, right?" The room suddenly darkened, the bright colors seemed to fade from it, and there was only darkness. Jack grabbed my arms tighter, and began to leap expertly out of he building, dodging the Goat's balls of fire. He ran, and leaped into the clock face. I braced for impact, but instead found myself outside the train station. Jack carefully set me down on the ground, while he turned to the building and waved his hand. He leaned over, panting.
"That should hold old Goat for now." He said. "I'm worried about Turnip-head, though. Did Goat really do that to him?" He asked no one in paticular. We sat there, stunned for a few moments. I gave a tiny whimper.
"I... don't... want to go to hell, Jack." I said quietly. He gave me a hug to comfort me.
"I'll make sure I'll get you to life. And reunite you with whoever that was. I'll make sure of that." He looked up to the sky. The moon's eyes were almost open, staring us down. "We're running out of time. We need to get to the closest train to life before Goat escapes."
The goat is thinking of something we don't know("Hurry, take it; Hurry, take it")
While waiting for the train,
"Where should we board it?" I asked. He looked up and down the criss-crossing tracks. "I'll call one." He said, taking out a whistle. He blew it, but no noise came out. Almost instantly, a rusty old locomotive began to appear, moving slowly. Suddenly, a noise was heard behind us as the Clock burst open, falling apart in firey pieces. Goat stood in the wreakage, his suit torn, and his eyes blazing.
"DAMN YOU, JACK!" he said, panting, his suit falling apart into strips with every movement. His eyes then burst into red flame, and so did his hands. He readyied another attack, the flames glowing brighter than ever.
"No time to wait!" Jack said, grabbing me, and jumping on to the roof of the train, nimbly dodging the Goat's fireballs. He ran along the top of the train, until he found an open window and swung himself inside of it. I fell on the floor, rolling until I hit a chair. We were in the front car, the conductur stood before us, looking suprised. I was even more suprised, it was the sam balloon man from before.
"That's one way to get into my trains, Jack." He said in a whispy high pitched voice. Jack waved his hand at this comment.
"Whatever, conducter. There's more to worry about now. We need to get to life, so please, double the speed." the balloon man nodded, and the train began to go forward, flying faster and faster. Jack sat down on an old seat, and beckoned next to him.
"please, Ms. Pumpkin, sit down." he said. I joined him.
"Do you think Goat will find us?" I asked. Jack bowed his head.
"Maybe. I do not know for sure. But this train is going at top speed, and not even a demon like Goat can keep up with a Life Train at top speed. And I sadly waited for the time where I would have to have to leave this place. I leaned on Jack, and we sat in silence for the rest of the ride.
Why don't we hold hands since there's two allowed this ride takes us through the subway tunnels, ("Recessive, dominant, and mountain of corpses?") And we end up at a market with crowds of ants, And yet, the moon is still in deep slumber.
After a few seconds, minutes, hours, or anytime at all, we came to a stop. Jack looked down soberly.
"It is time for you to leave." We stood up, and walked down the aisle, slowly, dreading what was to come. We reached the exit. I looked to the conducter. He gave me a sad look, then turned away. I squeezed Jack's hand as we opened the door.
We were in that place on the map before, where the smoke billowed, and darkness surrounded us. Shapes of strange people moved under us all around on the ground, though I could see nothing more than them in all directions. Even behind me, the train had dissapeared. A lump formed in my throat.
"If you walk into these clouds, Ms. Pumpkin, you will find yourself in life." He looked above him, at the moon. The eyes still had a tiny bit to go. He looked back at me.
"We have only a little time, Ms. Pumpkin. Do you want another dance, until we have to leave?" He asked. I held him in an embrace, hot tears streaming down my face.
"Yes Jack. Please." He grasped my hands, and we began a slow, soft dance around the clouds, as time seemed to stop. We danced back and forth, and I closed my eyes and pretended we were back inside of the ballroom, made of gold, with the lanterns dancing around, with others dressed finely watch us, make space for us as we glide across the dance floor. But the dream was interupted, as Jack gently held the back of my head, and whispered softly,
"The moon's eyes have opened. It is time for you to leave." I looked up into his face, seeing tht he was honest, The moon had opened it's eyes, and was staring us down. I began to cry silently. He gave me a kiss, and stepped back. I turned away and towards the clouds, taking a few tiny steps forward. But before I entered it, I looked to Jack.
"Can you hold my hand as I walk through?" I looked down at my feet. "I'm scared, Jack." He nodded, walked up to me, and grasped my hand.
"On three, Ms. Pumpkin." He said quietly.
"One." I said, taking a step.
"Two." He said, taking another.
"Three." I said, closing my eyes, grabbing his hand tighter, and stepping into the clouds.
"Ah, Mrs. Pumpkin! Here I have arrived now to welcome you!"When exactly was that this night had Destroyed the dream it created for me?
(Ah, ah.. Ah...)
"Miku! Miku! Are you allright!" Someone asked. My eyes were closed, and I felt all the memories from my life rushing back into me. My name was Miku. Miku Hatsune. I had a boyfriend. Kaito. That was his voice. I opened my eyes slowly. I saw his blue eyes, smiling down at me. His face was bandaged, but he still smiled, the pain ofrom it was obviously hurting him while he smiled.
"You were in a coma for such a long time!" He said. A chill went through my body. He sounded so much like Jack...
"Yeah..." I said, sitting up a little bit, then wincing from the pain. there was a needle in my arm, and bandages all up and down my body.
"Kaito... I had.. A strange dream.." I thought, biting my lip and wishing for Limbo again.
Even so, I still want to keep dancing here!
Let me have this one distraction of a dream
("Recessive, dominant, they're just some big idiot")
With more pleasure spilling out everywhere,
The flames of the lantern become a blaze
(Ba la la ba lu la ba la happy day)
Hey, la lu la lu la do you want to dance with me?
There's no chance that there will be a reply
("For shame! Too bad!" Said the turnip-headed lad)
Now you see that there is no longer the coffin
And how boring is that
It's so disappointing inside this muk
I'm waiting, the morning might even come
If I wait in the train
(Ah, Mrs. Pumpkin)
(Ah, Mrs. Pumpkin)
The story of my dream got out... They wrote a book on it, even making a song. I was asked to sing it. My story became famous all over the world. It made scholars question life and death, and even accuse if what I said was false. But I knew, my time with Jack, Goat, Turnip head, and everyone else in Limbo was real. For, there was still a piece of chocolate in my pocket when I woke up.
Fin.
