Chapter 4: The Sweets Car
While the Hill Car had been a literal walk in the park for Mary, the next car wound up being anything but.
"Eeep!" As soon as she walked in, she saw a pink water balloon fly right past her. Mary was quick to back away as soon as she saw it, so she managed to avoid getting wet, but when she saw what kind of car she was in, ice ran over her face.
The car was little more than a narrow hallway painted turquoise, and all of its inhabitants were colorful balloon animals. All of them held up flat, giant balloon shields shaped like rectangles, like colorful versions of the shields the SWAT team would use. All of the balloon animals were throwing water balloons at one another. Water balloons soared every which way, with several striking some denizens square in the face, breaking apart and showering them with water. The subtle gurgling of water caught Mary's ears, as she looked behind the balloon animals and saw little creeks running behind them. Was that where they got their water? She also saw piles upon piles of unused balloons everywhere.
Mary bristled as her mind searched for a way to get through this car without getting wet. "Ugh! I definitely don't wanna live in this car! No I don't!" Mary said to herself.
Thankfully, the exit was only about thirty feet away, but Mary knew the problem would actually be getting there without getting soaked to the bone. None of the denizens seemed to notice her, and were too busy throwing water balloons and shouting war cries at one another to pay much attention to anything that wasn't in front of them. Mary knew she had to get out of this car, and fast. But how could she get to the exit? She looked behind the denizens, noticing that the floor was covered with unused water balloons, shriveled up and not blown up yet.
Wait a minute...Mary saw a potential solution hatch in her mind, like a baby bird breaking out of its egg. Maybe she could crawl underneath the unused balloons. There were so many of them, she could probably use them as a cover so any water balloons that hit her wouldn't get wet. It helped that most of the denizens held up big, tall shields, and many of the balloons from one side didn't hit the army on her left.
Mary silently approached one denizen, a balloon animal that looked like a brown and green turtle. "Excuse me?"
"What is it?!" The balloon turtle yelled. "I'm trying to protect my dignity as an army commander here!"
"Eep!" The turtle's voice exploded in Mary's ears, and her hands flew up to protect them from further yelling. "May I please sneak past your...army so I can get to the exit?" Mary asked in a low, sheepish whisper, hoping she came across as polite as possible. "I promise not to get in your way."
"Sure! Sure! Whatever! Just don't drink any of our water!" The turtle barked, making no effort to lower his voice one bit.
Permission secured, Mary covered herself with unused water balloons and ran behind the turtle's army of balloon animals. She kept an eye on her left, watching for any water balloons that threatened to explode upon contact. One balloon animal shaped like an elephant got soaked as soon as Mary slipped past it. "Better hurry!" Mary told herself, running faster.
In no time at all, she made it to the exit, going through the door right as a purple water balloon almost hit her. She closed the exit behind her and exhaled a huge sigh of relief, leaning against the door and falling to the floor. Now that was a stressful car. As much as she liked the occasional water balloon fight with her friends, she didn't want to get her clothes and stuff wet, and she didn't bring her bathing suit, not that she needed it. No way did she want to live in a car like that. She kicked her legs up and down and flapped her hands to get the stress out of her system. At least the Hill Car didn't have denizens trying to hurt each other all the time, and she did not want to get caught up in a water balloon war.
Thankfully, her self-soothing technique worked like a charm, even if it took her about five minutes to get the anxiety out of her system. She clutched Mimi in her arms, stood up, and walked across the bridge leading to the next car. Mary swallowed as she made it to the entrance, hoping the next car wouldn't be as stressful. Mary turned the handles, and the door slid open with a harsh whirring noise. The scent of something sweet caught her nostrils.
Chocolate chip cookies? Or was it something else? When Mary saw what was beyond the train door, her mouth fell wide open in pure awe.
A vast expanse of sweets and candy confections appeared before her, bursting with color. The sky was a lovely shade of cotton candy pink with specs of orange and purple mixing in with it. Gingerbread houses decorated with all manner of confections like whipped cream, gummies, and frosting lined peppermint cobblestoned streets. Wafer bridges spread across flowing chocolate rivers, and the roof tiles on the houses were sprinkled with light dustings of sugar and iced with frosting in a whole rainbow of colors. Lollipops, licorice, and candy canes sprouted out from the ground like flowers. Mary could also see large, delectable cakes farther in, like a many tiered chocolate one, and a white frosted shortcake with a ring of strawberries circling the top.
"Wooooow!" Mary found herself speechless. A mob of little gingerbread men walked past her, smiling and singing a merry tune to themselves as they carried multicolored marshmallows in their little arms.
"Look at this, Mimi!" Mary exclaimed, putting Mimi in front of her as she walked. "It's a whole world of sweets and cake and candy!"
Already, the urge to just eat every single one of these delicious confections threatened to override her need to walk through this train car. A large lump of flan wiggled on her right, and next to it were several bars of chocolate.
"But should I just eat it, though?" Mary wondered out loud. "Do I need to ask permission to eat them?"
She did see some gingerbread denizens running around. Maybe she could ask one of them if it was okay to eat all the sweets here. Just as that thought entered her head, a sentient gummy worm slithered right in front of her.
"Oooh! A moving gummy worm!" Mary cajoled, kneeling down to its level. "Hey, Mister Gummy Worm! Is it okay for me to eat any of the sweets around here?" She asked.
Wordlessly, the blue and white gummy worm nodded before slithering away.
"Yaaaaay!" Mary cheered, throwing Mimi into the air with glee before catching her with both arms. "I can eat all the sweets and candy I want, and Mom isn't here to yell at me!"
The first thing she did was approach the flan. She didn't want to get Mimi dirty, so she gently put her backpack down and put Mimi on top of it. Mary scooped a piece of flan out with her whole hand, taking a minute to feel it with her skin before putting it in her mouth. She made sure to eat it in small pieces, as she didn't want to choke, and savored the taste as she chewed. It was surprisingly light and spongy.
"So this is what this kind of pudding tastes like!" Mary said after she finished, licking the remaining flan off of her hand so she wouldn't get any or anything she touched. She remembered wanting to try eating pudding flan at least once, but none of the stores or restaurants they went to had it. Now she got to taste what it was like, and she found herself liking it. "Tastes a lot better than I thought it would!"
After a few more bites, Mary moved on from the pudding, slinging her backpack back on and cradling Mimi in her arms as she walked further down. There were so many confections that sparkled under the sunlight, almost shining.
"I'm definitely not eating any mint or peppermint, though. That stuff's gross," Mary said. She hated the taste of both mint and peppermint. It felt like her tongue was being stabbed with icy knives whenever she ate mint candies or peppermint. She had seen her mother eat them lots of times, and couldn't fathom how anyone could tolerate them for even a nanosecond.
"Oooh!" Something else caught Mary's eye, and she ran over to a row of large cupcakes the size of her whole body. All of them had different colors of swirling frosting. White, yellow, blue, purple, pink, brown...some had sprinkles on them, some had chocolate chip cookies sticking out, and some didn't have condiments at all. Mary put Mimi down again and reached up to rank a cookie out of one cupcake with pink frosting. She wasted no time taking a big bite, and a smile spread across her face as the sweet combination of the frosting and the chocolate melted in her mouth.
"Sooooo goooood!" Mary decided right there that this was heaven. All the sweets in the world to eat at her own leisure, and nobody to tell her that she couldn't. As far as Mary was concerned, this was a dream come true.
Once she finished the cookie, she grabbed a chunk of chocolate frosting on one of the cupcakes and bit down on it, savoring the soft, melty substance. Even just sitting down and enjoying it wasn't enough, as she spun around like a top just to emulate the rush she was feeling just from being here. Sure, her head spun even after she stopped spinning, but it was well worth it, since she was in a train car full of her favorite things. How could she not be happy?
"I do kinda wish Caitlin and Leo were here with me though," Mary said after sitting down. She wiped her hands on a fluffy cotton candy bush to get the leftover chocolate off of them. "I bet they'd love this place!"
Hands clean, Mary picked Mimi back up and walked further, excited for what other nice confections she'd see next. Cake pops lined some of the peppermint cobblestone streets, almost resembling Christmas lights. Donuts in all manner of flavors scattered across a frosted meadow. Mary squealed upon seeing a chocolate frosted donut that was the size of her whole head just ten feet away. She immediately ran over, her blue eyes sparkling with delight as the sweet aroma of chocolate frosting entered her nostrils once more.
"A giant chocolate donut!" Mary shouted out loud, putting Mimi down so she could lean in and bite off a good chunk of the not. Some of the frosting got on her nose, but in this moment, Mary didn't care. Every chew and bite was a little slice of heaven that Mary found for herself. It definitely helped that her mother wasn't here to scold her or yell at her for...just about anything. She could picture her mother, black hair askew, eyes wild and narrowed in anger, her mouth wide open to the point of baring teeth, wagging her index finger at Mary, at the idea of living in a world of sweets. Not even the image of her mother scolding her bothered her in this moment.
Mary went on to try her hand at consuming any sweets she saw that interested her. A chocolate cake pop with a light coat of white frosting. A thin rainbow lollipop she found sticking out of the ground. Rows upon rows of twizzlers and peanut butter cups. Wafers that were stuck on various gingerbread houses. There was practically no end to this world of sweets. After a while though, Mary's stomach began to make gurgling noises, and not the good kind.
"Uugh…" Mary held a hand to her abdomen, grimacing as she felt a strange swirling sensation writhing within her. "I think I ate too much…" All the times her parents told her not to eat so much candy and junk food, she had always dismissed them. Now she knew they had been serious, and found herself wishing she hadn't ignored their warnings before.
"Is there a bathroom around?" Mary asked no one in particular as she looked around. She didn't see any sign of a bathroom. Would a world of sweets even have a bathroom? Did it even have water, which was needed to have a bathroom? Mary saw some gummy frogs hopping across the road, right in front of her. She tried to ask them if there was a bathroom, but they paid her no heed, as they hopped so fast, they didn't stop to listen.
"Boo!" Mary exclaimed before walking further...but stopped after twenty feet, as something new caught her eye. A gigantic, three-tiered house made of cookies and gingerbread stood before her, with the support beams made of peppermint. Frosting and candy corn lined the windows, and round pieces of hard candy dotted the roof. The front door was basically a rectangle shaped chocolate bar with a peppermint doorknob. It almost looked like the candy house from Hansel and Gretel, that fairy tale her father read to her once before bed.
"Oooooh!" Mary stared in awe, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach as she walked closer. "I bet this is the biggest candy house I've seen so far!" She held Mimi up to look her in the eye. "What do you think, Mimi?"
Mary put her hand on Mimi's neck and shook her head up and down, simulating a nod. "Me too!" She said.
Come to think of it...Mary held a finger to her mouth, lost in thought. She hadn't eaten any candy corn in a while. Halloween wasn't going to be for another few weeks, and she was in the mood for candy corn. But her stomach gurgled in protest, urging her not to eat anymore. As much as she wanted to listen, the candy corn on the walls glistened under the setting sun, as if begging her to eat it.
"I'll just have one piece!" Mary decided, ignoring her stomach's protests. The candy corn pieces were fairly small, so she was sure just one little piece wouldn't make her too sick. She gently removed a piece from the wall and threw it into her mouth. It tasted exactly like the candy corn she ate in the real world; hard, but easily chewable, and it didn't melt into her tongue like chocolate did, not that she minded. She closed her eyes and savored the chewy taste. "Soooo goooooood…"
"Excuse me?"
"Hm?" An unfamiliar voice pulled Mary out of her candy-induced reverie. She opened her eyes to find...the biggest marshmallow she had ever seen standing before her. The marshmallow stood a good seven feet tall. Upon closer inspection, the marshmallow had two eyes, eyelashes on both eyes, and a long mouth. Considering this world was inhabited by sentient sweets, all these things were confirmation that this enormous marshmallow was alive.
It took seconds for Mary to realize that the marshmallow was looking right at her with an expression she couldn't read. "Uhh...yes?" Mary stammered out.
"I don't mean to be a bother," The marshmallow spoke in a soft, dulcet, womanly voice. "But that piece of candy corn you just ate...was part of my house."
Mary's bliss was knocked right out of her as the statement made her body stiffen up in horror. She had eaten a piece of someone's property! She didn't know someone lived in this candy house, but she knew that didn't make it any less wrong. Her eyes shrunk as she pictured the talking marshmallow yelling at her for her transgression. How dare Mary eat candy off of someone's house and not know someone lived there? The marshmallow didn't look angry, but past experience taught Mary that just because someone didn't look mad didn't mean they weren't. Remorse suffocated her being as she did the only thing she knew to do.
"Waahh! I'm so sorry!" Mary bent her body in an angle and apologized profusely. Her stomach churned once more, probably out of guilt. Mary was sure just saying sorry wasn't going to fix anything. Apologizing never seemed to work with her mother no matter how remorseful she was, so how could she expect things to be the same with the talking marshmallow? The right thing to do was to take responsibility and admit her wrongdoing, and she admitted it, but how could she make it up to the marshmallow? Her shoulders shook and her chest tightened as she remembered her mother's angry faces and gestures flying in her face. Would the denizens of this car do something like throw her into a dungeon and lock her up forever, no matter how miniscule the crime? She didn't want to go to jail.
'Serves you right,' A cruel voice in Mary's head sneered, dripping with contempt and condescension. 'You're a bad child. How can you be so stupid and not know to keep your hands to yourself? You should know better!'
"I didn't know this house belonged to somebody! Honest!" Mary found herself stammering against her better judgment. "I'll make it up to you! I'll do anything! I'll work! Just please don't lock me up in a dungeon forever!"
"Why would I do that?"
Mary opened her eyes and saw something she didn't expect. The marshmallow was...smiling?
"There's no need to be upset, child," The marshmallow told her. "I'm not angry or anything. Besides, one little missing candy corn doesn't hurt anybody. Besides, I have plenty more inside."
What? Mary's mouth hung open in stunned disbelief. The marshmallow forgave her? Just like that?
"Really? You're not mad?"
The marshmallow shook her head.
"You're not gonna say I'm a bad kid and that my parents did a bad job raising mr or that I should go to jail for being stupid and not knowing something everybody else knows?" Mary found herself asking. The idea that Mary could be so easily forgiven for doing something she shouldn't, even small little accidents, was rather foreign to her. Her mother would always make a huge show of every little misdemeanor Mary made, even if it was an accident or not even a big deal. The fact that she felt the need to scold Mary every time she flapped her hands or talked about her favorite books made her believe that everything she did, no matter how miniscule, always warranted some kind of punishment. Last night's incident, along with the blog detailing such, proved it. How could she believe otherwise when her mother believed it so strongly?
The marshmallow frowned, and an arm grew out from the left side of her body to scratch her head with one hand. "Of course not. What you did just now couldn't possibly warrant a punishment that...extreme."
This couldn't be true. This couldn't be happening. Mary's mind reeled. Why was this talking marshmallow forgiving her so easily? There was just no way this could happen this easily.
Before long, the marshmallow smiled again. "Judging by the number on your hand, you're a passenger, right?"
Mary looked at the number on her hand. It hadn't changed. The marshmallow could probably see it glowing. "Y-Y-Y-Yes…"
The marshmallow retracted her arm, pulling it back into her squishy body. "I'm not surprised. We get a lot of passengers coming through here. Some even stay the night," The marshmallow said sweetly, before her mouth formed an O. "Goodness, where are my manners? I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Blanca."
"I...I'm Mary! Mary Summers!" She blurted out. Her stomach gurgled yet again, and she held it with one hand.
"Oh, I know that sound anywhere," Blanca said. "Do you need to use the bathroom? Here, come on inside," Blanca pointed towards the front door. "I'll prepare a glass of water for you, too."
"Yeah…" Mary groaned, walking inside without protest, her anxieties about earlier having faded away. "I think I've had enough cake and candy for today…"
As it turned out, Blanca's house did, in fact, have a bathroom. Mary wasn't sure if the Sweets Car even had one. Why would talking candy and sweets need to use one? Said bathroom was made of sweets, except for the toilet and the toilet paper, which, to Mary, was somewhat of a relief. It even had regular water in it, even though she saw a chocolate river earlier. How did they have normal water? Although her mind had a million questions swimming around, Mary did her business and felt a lot better afterward. Not completely, as she still felt a little bloated, but at least she didn't feel like she was going to explode anymore.
She walked out of the bathroom and into the dining room. Blanca stood by a low table made of wafers, and a glass of water rested on a flat cookie dough coaster. An actual glass cup, not one made out of sweets, surprisingly enough.
"It looks like you're feeling a little better. That's good," Blanca said, gesturing towards a cotton candy couch, motioning for her to sit.
Mary sat down and drank the glass of water, happy that the sick feeling in her stomach was gone. For now, at least. "Thanks for that, and for the water," Mary said sheepishly. "But how do you guys have bathrooms and water anyway?"
"It's not uncommon for passengers like yourself to spend a night or two here, and many of them have also overindulged in sweets to the point of getting sick," Blanca explained. "So some of us denizens reached out to One-One, the conductor, and asked him to create some facilities the humans can use when that happens. He also sent over some herbs and remedies to help with stomach aches, and had other denizens teach us how to make them."
"You mean like...medicine?" Mary asked.
Blanca nodded. Mary's cheeks turned pink. She had to admit, making one's own medicine sounded pretty cool. Having your own medicine could come in handy if you weren't near a hospital. Mary wondered if she could ever learn how to do that someday.
"It's starting to get dark outside," Blanca noted as she peeked out one of her windows. Mary looked outside as well. The sky turned a deep purple, with some specs of orange still lingering. It was here that Mary realized she had done nothing but walk through the train all day. How long had she been doing this? She remembered getting on the train very early in the morning, and went through a few cars. She knew the Hill Car took a very long time to get through, since it was so big, vast, and full of hills. Had she really spent an entire day on the train? It felt surreal.
"Mary?" Blanca turned around, facing Mary with a smile. "If you're feeling tired, would you like to spend the night here in my house?"
"Huh?" Mary blinked twice, thinking she was hearing things. "Spend the night? Here? Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. But only if you want to. I can tell you've had a tiring day, and it's always good to go on one's journey feeling refreshed and well rested."
Valid points. Mary's legs did start to throb from doing so much walking, and her back was starting to strain from carrying her backpack for so long. Maybe it would be a good idea to sleep here for the night. It wasn't like she needed to get to the next car right now. Plus, there was no telling just what the next car would be like. For all she knew, it would be really dangerous, and Mary knew she couldn't afford to be tired if she had to deal with something like that. Why not take up Blanca's offer? She was already being so nice.
Mary gave a nod. "Okay then! I'll spend the night here with you, Miss Blanca!"
The marshmallow's cheeks dusted pink. "Oh, you needn't refer to me as Miss. Just Blanca is fine."
"But won't that be rude?" Mary asked. "Mom says kids shouldn't just call grown-ups by their first names. We have to use Mister, Mrs., or Miss, like for teachers in school."
"True, but if the grown-ups give you permission to do so, then it's okay," Blanca clarified.
That made sense. "Okay! Thanks, Blanca!"
Mary wasn't sure exactly what time it was, and she didn't feel like going to bed yet. For now, she simply put her backpack on the cotton candy bed in the next room. Surprisingly...she found herself wanting to talk to Blanca more. The giant, jiggly marshmallow just seemed to exude a mysterious warmth that Mary felt she was drawn to. But as she walked back to the living room, something caught her eye. A heart made out of braided licorice stood on a fireplace mantle. It was both black and red, and Mary stood on the tips of her toes to see it better. She wondered how someone could even make something like this.
"Ooooh…"
"Do you like it?" Blanca came up from behind her. "One of my daughters made that licorice heart."
"Really? Cool!" Mary exclaimed, in awe of the intricate sculpture. That certainly explained why Blanca was so nice and inviting; she was a mom, too. "Wait...you said one of your daughters. Do you have other kids?"
"Yes. I have twenty children total. Ten boys and ten girls."
Mary's mouth fell agape, and her feet went flat upon hearing this. "Twenty?!" She yelped without meaning to. "That's a lot!" Then it hit Mary: Blanca was the only denizen in the house she had seen so far. She didn't see any other sentient sweets. "Where are they?"
"They all grew up and moved out," Blanca replied, eyeing the sculpture. "Some of them do come and visit every now and again."
Blanca's voice quavered just a little bit, and Mary noticed it. She wondered if she should bring it up, but a part of her brain reasoned that it was probably something private she didn't want to talk about. Not wanting to be rude, she changed the subject. "Are they all marshmallows like you?"
"Indeed they are."
Of course they'd be marshmallows just like her. If two marshmallows got married and had kids, it was inevitable that they'd be marshmallows. Mary wondered if gingerbread men got married and made gingerbread babies. Anything seemed possible in this magical train.
"If you don't mind me asking," Blanca changed the subject this time. "How are you liking the train?"
Did she even need to ask? Mary immediately answered, throwing both arms into the air. "I think it's great!" She exclaimed. "A magical train where every car is its own world! Where I can do whatever I want, go wherever I want, and not get yelled at all the time! Where nobody takes me to weird doctors or tells me not to flap my hands or jump up and down when I'm excited or happy! I wanna stay on here forever!"
All throughout Mary's exclamations of glee, Blanca listened in silence, just like Ben did in the Green Car. She had this long smile on her face, and Mary could just tell that she was genuinely interested in what she had to say and made no effort to silence her. Just watching this giant talking marshmallow listen to her talk was a feeling that was beyond comforting, but Mary didn't know how else to describe it. Blanca not only overlooked a minor transgression Mary made like it was no big deal, she even invited her into her house and let her stay for the night. Not only that, Blanca didn't seem interested in pressing her for her problems, or even pointing out that Mary flapped her hands and sometimes jumped up and down.
"I can see clearly that you're very happy here," Blanca said, her voice a little wistful, and her mouth formed a subtle frown. "However, I don't think it's a good idea to want to stay on the train forever. Passengers are supposed to sort out their own problems and get their numbers to go down to zero. Of course, I know the process for every passenger is different. Some stay for a week, some stay for months, some for years."
Mary puffed her cheeks out, and her gaze dropped from Blanca to the flat, light purple candy rug on the floor. Was it a roll-up candy that was made flat? She didn't know, and had no desire to eat it.
"I don't wanna go home. Nobody likes me there," Mary murmured.
If Mary had her way, she'd stay in the Sweets Car forever. But she was sure Blanca wouldn't like that, since she said passengers shouldn't stay on the train all the time. Better yet...she found herself wishing that Blanca were her mother instead of Dana. It just felt so liberating to not have someone constantly needle her about every little thing she did, point out her flaws and insecurities like it was their obligation to do so, and punish her for trying to be happy...and herself.
"Well, your journey has only just started, so you have plenty of time in the world to sort things out," Blanca told her kindly. "Anyway, I'm sure you're probably tired. You'd best get some sleep."
Mary did feel her eyes start to grow heavy, and her body grew sluggish not just from fatigue acquired from walking so much, but from all the sweets she ate. "I probably should. Goodnight, Blanca!"
Blanca flashed a smile. "Goodnight, Mary."
When Mary walked out of the living room, she got a better look at the room she'd be staying in. The walls were covered with rainbow lollipops, but they didn't have any sticks, and the bed was little more than a giant heap of pink cotton candy that she could maneuver and manipulate however she pleased. Mary sat down on it and almost sunk right in, but she smiled, reveling at experiencing what it felt like to sleep on top of cotton candy. Candy stars lit up the night sky as Mary pulled a sheet of cotton candy over herself, and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall asleep.
That night, she dreamed of sweets and chocolate, of candy canes and gummy bears, of Blanca's kindness and motherly warmth, and of the next step in her magical adventure.
The search for Mary continued on, even after Caitlin returned home once she finished her conversation with Reagan. Search parties made up of volunteers from the neighborhood lurked through the woods, calling Mary's name as loud as possible, hoping for a response. Policemen drove through the immediate area, shining their headlights when it got dark, eyes on the lookout for anything even remotely suspicious. German shepherds kept their noses low to the ground, searching the woods for any trace of Mary's scent, guided by their policemen owners. Dana and Todd even participated in the search as well, when it was allowed. Unfortunately, everyone came up completely empty.
Night fell quicker than usual, even by October standards. Neither Todd nor Dana were in the mood to make dinner tonight, so the former settled on ordering Chinese food. The three of them sat at the dinner table, but they barely touched their food, making no effort to even attempt to eat. The chair next to Reagan's sat completely empty. Mary's spot at the table. The big piece of the Summers family that was missing. Reagan squeezed her eyes shut as she finally took a bite out of some sweet and sour chicken, not bothering to slather any sauce on it.
Desperate to break the tension, Todd spoke up. "So Reagan. How was school today?" He asked. "Did you do anything fun?"
Reagan slowly shook her head. "It was normal. I...passed out flyers," She mumbled.
Todd sighed, his shoulders hunching as he did so. "That's good. The more people on the lookout, the better."
All three of them knew that dinner wasn't the same without Mary. Todd already found himself missing her smile, her infectious laughter, the fact that she always took her time eating her food, watching her beam whenever her parents made her favorites for dinner. Todd held a hand to his forehead. He hated how helpless he felt in this moment. All he wanted to do was go out there and look for her. But the search party had disbanded for the time being, and the police wouldn't let him or Dana go searching for her afterward. As much as he understood that it was better for the police to handle it, he hated sitting around doing nothing. Seeing his family looking so morose...guilt weighed down on his heart like someone had dumped a big pile of bricks into it.
"What if she didn't run away?" For the first time in a while, Dana spoke. Her voice was low, and it quavered, but everyone could hear her clear as day. "What if she was kidnapped? There's no way she'd just up and leave."
"But the detectives said there was no sign of forced entry," Todd reminded her. The police did search the house to see if anyone had broken in the night Mary disappeared, wondering if maybe she had been kidnapped. But there was nothing indicating that someone broke in. No broken windows, no cut screens, no dents on the doors, no footprints they didn't recognize, no strange fingerprints, nothing. It didn't change the fact that Mary was still missing.
Knowing he needed to eat something, Todd took a bite out of some beef he ordered. His face grimaced from the weird sauce that it was packaged in, but he tolerated it. As far as he was concerned, nothing could compare to the pain of losing Mary.
"Don't you have to go to work tonight, Dad?" Reagan asked. "Your shift at the casino starts at eight, right?"
"Oh, that," Todd waved a dismissive hand in his daughter's direction. "Don't worry about it, Reg. My boss found out about what happened and he gave me the whole week off, with pay," He explained.
Reagan flashed a small smile. "That's good."
Todd smiled back. It was the first time he had seen Reagan smile since before the weekend. The tension had been broken. Seeing his older daughter smile alighted his heart.
For about five seconds.
"...You shouldn't have babied her so much."
Both Reagan and Todd looked up to find Dana staring down at her food, having not even touched it. Reagan's fork slipped out of her hands, clattering against her plate in her shock.
"What?" Todd spat out.
Dana gave him a hard, intense glare. "You made her vulnerable. Made her into the kind of kid that creeps prey on," Her voice was still low, but it dripped with venom.
Ice ran over everyone's faces. Neither Reagan nor Todd could believe what was coming out of Dana's mouth. It was Todd's turn to glare right back at his wife after a brief moment of stunned, heartbroken silence. "Are you saying this is somehow my fault?"
"You're the one that kept coddling her instead of listening to the ABA directors, and now look what happened," Dana retorted, making no attempt to hide her anger.
Reagan shrunk into her seat, knowing what was coming. Todd's face turned red hot, and he slammed both hands on the table as he stood up from his chair, knocking some strips of beef onto the dining room floor.
"Don't you dare do this, Dana!" Todd shouted. "Mary wasn't kidnapped! You know there's no evidence supporting that! She ran away! You saw her note! And you've got some nerve blaming me for this when it's likely the reason she's gone is because of what you did to her last Friday!"
"Mom, Dad, don't—" Reagan sheepishly tried to stop the argument, but to no avail. Dana cut her off before she could talk more.
Dana stood up just as fast, her side ponytail almost coming undone with how swiftly she moved her head. "This never would have happened if you hadn't undermined my attempts to get her under control!"
"You were hurting her! Can't you see that?! Didn't you see the cuts you left on her wrists?!" Todd shot back with just as much fervor. "Why the hell do you feel the need to make a huge deal out of everything she does?! You could have suffocated her back there, what with how you pinned her down like she was some out of control criminal!"
"It would have worked if you hadn't messed it all up like the little bitch you are!" Dana shrieked right in Todd's face.
"Oh, I'm the bitch?!" Todd broke into a sarcastic, bitter laugh. "That's rich coming from you! Mary's teacher told me about what happened at the meeting, about how you went off on him over petty shit!"
"How exactly is telling a teacher how to do his goddamn job petty?! You're the one letting Mary engage in her problematic behavior and undoing all the progress I made in getting her to the level she is now! I'm the only one actually doing shit around here to make sure we don't become the laughingstock of the entire damn neighborhood!"
Knowing this fight wasn't likely going to end any time soon, Reagan took her food and ran upstairs, locking herself in her bedroom. She turned on her computer, opened her music playlist, started up a hard rock song, and turned the volume up as loud as possible. It was the only way she knew to drown out their yelling. Then again, this wasn't the first time her parents got into fights like this, but nothing ever made them any easier to deal with. If there was one good thing about this situation, it was that Mary wasn't here to listen to them yelling. Sure, her being gone was bad in its own right, but Reagan took some consolation in that Mary wouldn't hear them yelling and feel horrible about it. Reagan shivered when she heard something break downstairs. Three things. A plate, maybe? She didn't dare go downstairs to see what was broken.
The fight continued for what seemed to be an eternity, but really only went on for about ten minutes. When Reagan's third piece of music ended, she heard her mother shout, "I'm going for a drive! Don't wait up for me. I'm sick of never being appreciated for anything I do around this goddamn house!"
Reagan once again grimaced when a door slammed. At least now her mother was gone. Feeling it safe to leave her room, Reagan tiptoed downstairs, returning to the kitchen to find her father squatting and putting broken cutlery into a bag. She could see his brows were deeply furrowed, and he looked so forlorn.
"Do you...want some help with that?" Reagan asked shyly, expecting a bomb to go off.
Todd looked up and flashed a tired smile. "No thanks, Reg. You've got homework to do, right?"
Reagan could only frown. Even after this terrible fight, her father still had it in him to try and keep it together for her. He looked like glass that was about to break, like the slightest touch would shatter him. Reagan bent down and picked up a piece of a broken plate.
"Careful. You'll cut yourself, sweetie," Todd advised, reaching to take it from her.
"I can handle it," Reagan replied, sliding it into the trash can. "Mom's wrong. This whole thing isn't your fault, Dad. She had no right to...go off on you like that."
Todd stood up and wrapped an arm around his older daughter, pulling her close. "Thanks. That really means a lot to me."
With that, father and daughter finished their meal and cleaned the kitchen together. Reagan helped put the dishes away while Todd put the leftovers in the refrigerator. "Sometimes...I wonder if I'm really...doing the right thing for Mary," Todd whimpered out of nowhere, closing the door gentler than he usually did. "But am I actually holding her back by letting her engage in her stims or accommodating her autistic needs?"
"Dad, of course you're not holding her back," Reagan assured him, turning on the faucet to wash off the utensils. "Mom's the one with the problem. You love Mary for who she is, as do I. You never go out of your way to make Mary miserable or make her feel like her entire life is nothing but a burden on everybody else. You actually make her feel like everything Mary does actually means something."
Todd took in a deep breath. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry about that. I need to get my head together. I shouldn't be unloading on you," He said, putting a hand to his forehead. He knew it was his job to worry about Reagan and Mary, not for Reagan to worry about him. Reagan didn't need to be the one comforting her father. She needed to be a kid. He turned around and forced a smile. "Anyway, did you finish your homework?"
"Yes I did."
"Alright then. How about we watch a movie for the rest of the night?" Todd suggested. "Do you have any suggestions? You're the movie expert in this house."
Reagan could only shrug, but she appreciated her father wanting to spend some time with her. "There is one I wanted to show you."
When Mary woke up, she felt...surprisingly refreshed. For a second, she didn't recognize where she was. She wasn't in her bed, and she didn't see any of her furniture either. Then she remembered where she was. Blanca's house, in a train car full of candy and sweets. For once, she didn't dread waking up, fearing that she'd have to deal with her mother. Her mother wasn't even here. She changed out of her pajamas and into a second set of clothes she brought with her: a long sleeved, dark blue shirt with darker stars on it and beige pants. She made sure to put her other clothes back into her backpack before heading to the bathroom. When she walked out, a nice aroma caught her nostrils. It led her to the living room, and she stopped to find Blanca setting a plate of pancakes, a glass of water, and a banana onto the wafer table.
"Oh! Good morning, Mary!" Blanca greeted her warmly. "How did you sleep?"
"Really well, thanks," Mary replied, eyeing the pancakes. They were small, but they were topped with butter and drizzled with syrup.
"I made you some pancakes for breakfast, and I added a banana too, since they're healthier," Blanca told her. "But if they're not to your liking, I'm more than happy to make something else."
"No no! It's okay! I like pancakes and bananas!" Mary sat right down and opened the banana, wasting no time eating it. She didn't have pancakes very often, as they weren't necessarily something she liked to eat on a regular basis, but she liked them okay. Bananas were her preferred breakfast food, so she ate that first. She still felt some slight bloating from the sweets she ate yesterday, but it wasn't as bad as before. Once she finished her banana, she took her time cutting a piece of the pancake and eating it.
Syrupy goodness rushed into her mouth, drowning her taste buds. Mary stopped after she swallowed it. It tasted far better than any other pancake she ever had in her entire life. The pancakes were perfectly soft and fluffy, without any burnt or hard parts, and the syrup wasn't too strong or overwhelming. They were also warm and soft, kind of like a rabbit's fur. Inviting but not overwhelmingly so. Mary had no idea such bliss existed in this world.
"This is...really good…" Mary muttered, slowly eating more bites.
Blanca flashed a pleased grin. "I'm so glad you like it. My daughters really loved these pancakes as well."
Mary couldn't help herself. She chewed on the pancakes, smiling all the while, and her hands came to life, fluttering like wings, as if words weren't enough to simply convey just how good they were. But then she stopped. Blanca was watching her, probably wanting her to stop! Mary instinctively stopped flapping her hands, clamping them down on the couch.
"Sorry. I won't do that anymore," Mary whimpered, mentally scolding herself for having flapped her hands.
"Why'd you stop?" Blanca asked, tilting her head to one side. "You can keep doing that if you want."
Did she hear right? Mary looked up. "Really? You're not mad?"
Blanca shook her head. "If flapping your hands makes you happy, then I don't see any reason to make you stop, so keep doing it. I don't mind at all."
For a second, Mary thought she was hearing things. Someone was actually okay with her flapping her hands, and not making it out to be some kind of unforgivable crime? Blanca wasn't going to go on long rants about how Mary was making her life harder or causing her trouble because of it? Mary thought she had been transplanted in another world...technically, she was. But it didn't make Blanca's compliment and nonchalance any less shocking. The last time Mary had done this, her own mother pinned her to the ground, almost suffocated her, and screamed at her like she was some out of control criminal being manhandled by a policeman. Dana even said on her blog that Mary ruined everything just by being around.
Something wet trickled down Mary's cheeks. Blanca immediately rushed to Mary's side, her eyes shrinking with concern. "Oh my. What's the matter, dear? There's no need to cry," Blanca was quick to try and soothe her, but made sure not to touch her. Mary appreciated Blanca giving her some space.
Mary wiped her eyes with her sleeve, but more tears kept coming...and she immediately realized why. "Blanca...I don't wanna get off the train," Mary sobbed. "Nobody wants me back home. Nobody loves me."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Blanca asked. "You don't have to if you're not comfortable, but I'm more than happy to listen."
Listen...that was what Mary had always wanted from her own mother. She wanted her to listen to her. But Dana never did. Blanca was willing to do so. This was the most heavenly gift Mary could ever have asked for. Mary couldn't keep it in anymore.
"My mom...I found out she doesn't love me," Mary confessed through her sobs. "She hates that I'm autistic. My brain isn't like the other kids, and stuff is harder for me. That's what my dad told me. But Mom hates it. She always yells at me whenever I do something...or don't do something," Mary continued on. "She's always like, 'Mary! Don't flap your hands! Use quiet hands! People are gonna look at us weird because of you!' 'Mary! Stop whining! Why do you always have to cause trouble for me?!' 'Mary! Look at me when I talk to you! Can't you be normal for two seconds?!' Even when I do everything she says, she's never happy. She wants me to just magically know stuff, and when I don't and say I wish she told me, she gets mad and says it's my job to figure it out. When I'm scared and don't wanna be someplace, she makes me stay, and gets mad even when I can't take it anymore. She always...makes me feel like...everything I do is bad, and that I absolutely have to be punished no matter what. It's like she thinks it'll make me normal and not...autistic! It's all punish, punish, punish and I'm sick of it!"
Everything seemed to spill out of Mary like a waterfall. Well, not everything, as she didn't mention the blog, nor did she want to. Just thinking about that made bile rise in her throat, and she hated that feeling. One word bumped into the other with all that she spoke, and even through her tears, Mary felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her, knowing that Blanca wasn't going to punish her for being sad. Indeed, Blanca listened in silence, albeit with a frown.
An arm grew out from Blanca's body, pulling Mary close. Mary leaned into the marshmallow's squishy chest, smiling at just how soft she felt.
"Mary, I want you to listen to me," Blanca said, her voice gentle and soft, but Mary could hear a subtle firmness in it. But it didn't sound like the angry firm that she was so used to hearing from Dana. "What your mother is doing to you is wrong. A mother should never demean or degrade their child constantly, nor continually punish them even for minor misdemeanors. I should know, I've raised twenty children throughout my five hundred years of living, and I can tell you for certain that that doesn't work at all."
"Wait, what?!" Mary yelped, looking right up at Blanca with wide, glassy eyes. "You're five hundred years old?!"
Blanca flashed a grin. "I am. By magical marshmallow standards, I'm middle aged," She replied before changing the subject back to what it was before. "Anyway...I've never met your mother, so I don't know what she's like except from what you tell me, and I can't claim to know what her reasons are for doing what she does. But I know that she should never go out of her way to make you feel ashamed of yourself, for any reason. If flapping your hands and jumping up and down makes you happy, then keep doing it."
That did it for Mary. She wrapped her short arms around Blanca, burying her face into her body, wishing she could just stay right here. This was what she had wanted all along, mainly from Dana. Sure, her father and sister gave her all the love she could ever want, but Mary always questioned why her mother could never do the same. More so since she saw her classmates' mothers tell them that they loved them, showering them with hugs and kisses while respecting their wishes. Blanca did so much more for Mary in a day than Dana had ever done in her entire life.
A thought popped into Mary's mind: Why couldn't Blanca be her mother?
However, a part of her reasoned that she couldn't stay in the Sweets Car forever. Both Ben and Blanca said that passengers shouldn't stay in one car. Plus, Mary was sure she'd quickly tire of eating nothing but candy, cake, and sweets all the time. Mary sniffed and wiped the rest of her tears, releasing Blanca from her hug.
"Thank you...Blanca…"
"You're welcome, sweetheart," Blanca used a hand to smooth Mary's hair out. "You're more than welcome to talk to me about anything, and if you don't feel comfortable doing so, that's alright, too. You can tell me when you feel ready."
Mary nodded, her smile lasting a lot longer than it usually did. "My real mom doesn't do the stuff you do for me. She always wants me to talk or smile or do stuff even when I tell her I don't want to. I always feel like...she wants me to be somebody else."
"Well, you're not somebody else," Blanca assured. "Your mother is herself, and you are you. Only you can be the person that you want to be, and it's up to you to see what kind of person you'll become. You can't ever not be autistic, and that's okay. I've met a lot of passengers who came through here, and I know that your journey through the train is to help you confront your problems and become the best version of Mary Summers you can be."
The best version of Mary Summers...she liked the sound of that.
"So...I guess I shouldn't stay in the Sweets Car forever, huh?"
"I wouldn't recommend it, no. But if you ever feel tired and want to rest, for any reason, you're more than welcome to stop by."
Mary flashed a grin. "You know what? I think I will."
In that moment, the number on her hand glowed. She lifted her palm up, gasping as she saw the number changing. After a few seconds, it stopped, her number now 116.
"Huh? Why'd it go down?" Mary asked.
"I think I know why," Blanca said, taking Mary's hand into her own. "With your mother not around to make you feel miserable, you can feel confident in being yourself and doing the things that make you happy. Things that are true to your authentic self."
Authentic? Mary raised an eyebrow. She had never heard that word before. "What does au...thentic mean?" She asked, slowly sounding out the new word she heard.
"Authentic means real, genuine, true. Not fake or copied off of something else. As real as real can be."
Now Mary definitely liked the sound of that. If being on the train would let her be her authentic self, then she didn't mind leaving the Sweets Car. She ran back to the bedroom, grabbed Mimi, and put her backpack on her back before returning to the living room.
"I think I'm ready to leave now. Thank you for everything you've done for me, Blanca," Mary told her before walking out of the house.
But she didn't get very far before Blanca followed her outside. "Mary, wait!"
"Huh?"
"Mary...you don't mean to say you're going all by yourself, are you?" Blanca asked, her eyes wide like she saw a ghost.
"I kinda am all by myself," Mary replied. "I asked a talking grape in the Green Car if he could come with me, but he couldn't. He said he had to watch his house and make sure nobody broke into it."
She could still feel the pepper spray Ben gave her weighing down one of the pockets in her backpack. She wondered if she'd ever have to use it. The cars she's been to so far haven't been very dangerous, but One-One did say that there were some dangerous cars.
"How old are you, exactly?"
"I'm nine!"
Blanca stopped to think before speaking again. "Do you know how to fight, or defend yourself?"
Mary shook her head. She never felt a need to do so. Some of her classmates took karate classes after school, but Mary didn't see herself doing that. She was sure she'd never be able to do things like kick someone really hard or break a cinder block into pieces.
"Do you know how to use any weapons?"
"Nope."
Blanca let out a sigh. "That certainly changes things. Mary, it is true that there are plenty of nice, safe cars like this one. But there are just as many that are dangerous. I've heard stories of passengers getting killed on the train."
A shiver ran down Mary's spine. People can die on the train? Mary gripped the straps on her backpack to curb the anxiety that pooled in her stomach. It didn't work.
"You're only a child, and since you said you don't know how to fight or defend yourself, there's a very strong possibility that you could find yourself in a bad situation and not be able to escape," Blanca continued, her tone far more solemn this time. "And if you die on the train, it's very likely you'll never be able to go back home."
As much as Mary hated to admit it, Blanca made good points. Anything could happen on this train. If there were such things as talking gingerbread cookies and balloon animals, who was to say there wouldn't be things like dinosaurs or monsters on the train? Mary knew there was absolutely no way she'd be able to hold her own against a dinosaur or the monsters she read about in her books. As much as Mary wanted to stay on the train for as long as humanly possible, she didn't want to die on it.
"I'm sorry, Mary. I'm not trying to scare you or dissuade you from leaving the train and getting your number down," Blanca clarified. "I'm only trying to inform you of the train's potential dangers, and I am concerned about your safety."
Even with the pit in her stomach, Mary could only smile. "It's okay! I know you're trying to help, and I'm glad you're being straight with me."
"That being said…" Blanca's eyes softened, returning to normal.
But Mary was in no way prepared for what came next.
"Would it be alright if I accompanied you on your journey?"
"Wha?!" Mary almost fell backwards, but she straightened herself to keep from falling. Still, the words that came from Blanca's mouth were like seeing a flock of birds fly right in front of her with no warning. "You want to come with me?!"
Blanca nodded, affirming her answer.
"How come? Don't you have to stay here and protect your home?" Mary asked. As much as she wanted to scream and jump up and down, as the idea of Blanca accompanying her was the best thing she could ever hope to have happen, she remembered Ben's rejection and wasn't sure if she'd be okay with Blanca leaving her home unattended.
Blanca smiled once more, waving off Mary's concern. "There's no need to worry. I can ask one of my neighbors to keep an eye on it. Besides, all of my children have moved out, and I am genuinely curious to see what the other train cars are like, since I rarely ever leave the Sweets Car. Plus, if we ever find ourselves in dangerous cars, I can protect you. If I'm being honest...there is something I want to do outside this car, and...if it's alright with you, I would love to experience it with you and see your journey through to the end."
Any reservations Mary had in letting loose completely vanished at this point. Mary gave a great big cheer as she jumped up and down, her happiness overflowing like lava from an active volcano. She couldn't believe her luck. She was sure Blanca wouldn't want to go with her on her magical train journey. But now, Blanca said she wanted to go with her, if only to keep her safe. Whatever the reason, Mary was completely okay with it. She grinned from ear to ear as she flung her arms around Blanca once more, with Mimi hanging off of her left hand as she did so.
"Yes! Yes yes yes yes! Absolutely! I'd love for you to come with me!" Mary bellowed happily, unable to contain her explosion of joy. "We can be train buddies! We can fight evil monsters and maybe slay dragons and stuff!"
Blanca stifled a chuckle. "I don't know about that, but I can keep you safe. Would you like to head for the exit right now?"
"Absolutely!"
Mary took Blanca by the hand, and the two of them made their way down the peppermint cobblestone streets, eagerly anticipating the adventure ahead. Mary could just feel the renewed energy in her bones. With Blanca by her side, she didn't feel scared at all.
A/N: And Mary acquires her first traveling companion! For anyone wondering, Blanca is my own personal creation, as is the next character they meet in the next chapter.