(If "The Tale of a Haunted Banker" by Christopher Young is compatible with your device, please press play now)
Nicole rested her head against the window of the elongated passenger bus. She didn't care for the germs or sleek surface that offered terrible support for her neck and vertebrae...she just wanted to rest. She wanted to forget everything she had known about her life here in this town...in Elmore. Whatever trials and tribulations she had striven to overcome in her memories here, were merely just that...memories. She had fought through the mental battles of her parents, Mary and Daniel, her short tenure and position at the rainbow factory...Richard.
As she reminisced on those thoughts, she quickly pulled her tail into her torso, along with pulling her jacket to cover her face. Silently, she sobbed, recollecting the vivid and sentimental moments she had here with him...the young man who had kept her fighting and persevering through every challenge that would come her way; he was her comfort, her solitude, the person she could always rely upon and confide with. Now...he was nothing more than another unfortunate conclusion to a town she had once called her home.
The rain outside her passenger window pattered gently against it, allowing her to slowly regain her composure and began to drift asleep.
2 Hours Earlier...
Nicole turned the keys to her and Richard's apartment, as she slowly opened the door.
"Richard? Honey? Are you home?"
Nicole whispered in a soft tone, as she entered the dark and confined apartment the couple had both called home since they left together under drastic circumstances from their parents.
Nicole gently closed the door, as to not wake Richard if he was truly home and asleep.
As she gazed around the apartment, she noticed it to be a bit more bare and vacant since she left this morning for her shift at the Rainbow Factory.
"Richard?"
She once again asked, this instance being slightly more concerned in her tone and slightly elevated in tone.
She removed the sling of her workbag from her shoulders, and dropped it onto the apartment floor, making an audible *THUMP* as it made contact.
She peeked around the corner of the kitchen to their bedroom.
Her tail slightly lowered, as she noticed the bed was freshly made, but no sign of Richard.
Quickly, she went to the couch of the living room, which laid bare.
There were hardly any signs of disarray or mess in the apartment, which was commonplace for her and Richard.
She then had the sinking instinctual gut feeling, as her eyes widened.
She returned to the direction of the bedroom, and committed to a brisk walking pace, entering the room and turning to one of the wardrobes.
"Please..."
She said in a near trembling voice, as she opened the wardrobe; before quickly backing away in abject horror. Richard's clothes...were gone.
Nicole shook her head, her eyes beginning to well with tears, as she desperately held onto every fiber of her being to keep them from falling.
She retreated and collapsed onto the bed, holding onto her chest tightly. Every breath she drew, the more restricted her respiring seemed to become, and her head was spinning with thoughts of dread.
On one last ditch attempt, she began to search the apartment once more, refusing to believe that this was happening to her, not now at this stage in her life...just when she had the belief that the foundations of a future was being built.
She searched the bedroom once more, noticing the valuables and possessions of Richard were gone, reaffirming her worst thoughts, but still pressing on the search to find anything that would point to Richard's whereabouts or intentions.
She could feel her fur stand on end, as her anger and despair began to boil and cultivate within her very soul. Her emotions became erratic, her rationale was fleeting as she became desperate for answers, ANYTHING that could answer the swirling and torturous thoughts that were tormenting her now.
Before losing all hope, her ear quickly twitched to the kitchen window, which led to the fire escape balcony that lay just outside their apartment.
It was opened, as the moonlight shone onto the kitchen fridge, where a note had been placed underneath a decorative fridge magnet.
Nicole somberly made her way in the direction of the fridge, apprehensive to read the text that was written on the letter. She understood that she would gain potential clarity on her current predicament, but would it send her into a deeper abyss that she could not climb her way out of?
As her paw clasped the note in her paw, her nerves noticeably trembling the margins of the page, she began to read its contents:
"Dear Nicole,
I know you're going to be asking yourself "Richard, why?". The truth is...the situation we were currently in, the stress we both bore, became too much for me to handle...I had to find a way out. I've never been the most confrontational of people, you of all people understand that Nicole, so instead of causing more undo stress for the both of us I have left under my own accord. I have also left a departing gift to you from me, as a reminder of the good times we did share, it's in the kitchen drawer...I hope you can understand.
Please, don't follow me, I'm already far away from Elmore as you are reading this...but maybe we can cross paths once again some day...Nicole Senicourt.
With sincerest apologies and love,
-Richard Watterson"
Nicole finished reading the note, but didn't want to comprehend the contents of it.
"W-wh-why would you do this to me?!"
Nicole whispered under her breath, the pain and sorrow echoing in her ushered breath; as she could feel a pit in her stomach.
She wrapped her arms around herself and the note, as her back slid down the fridge, and into a sitting position on the floor, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks and face. She had felt hurt before...but not in such an abrupt and sudden manner...enduring a punch or strike in karate class from one of her peers could not compare to the type of pain she was experiencing now.
Emotional pain.
She was experiencing emotional trauma and turmoil...her thoughts scattered to the wind...she was alone again...and Richard was not there to be there for her resurgence back to her happy and spirited self...she was truly alone.
Before she fully succumbed to her emotions once again, she wiped away the tears caught in her fur with her forearm.
She remembered once specific part of the note Richard had mentioned, and slowly rose to her feet again, despite her feet and claws feeling numb.
She stumbled her way to the kitchen island in the center of the room, and inspected the drawers.
On the last drawer, she slowly opened it to find what she had assumed to be the gift that Richard had left behind to her as a memory; laying against the bare surface of the interior drawer.
Her expression then shifted back to a melancholy aura, as her lips began to quiver once again.
It was the acorn that Richard had given her when they were just kids...when they first encountered one another.
The words of Richard's letter began to circulate in Nicole's head.
"Why Richard...why?"
Nicole's voice was soon losing integrity and her words almost incoherent from the emotional turmoil she was in.
Her paws clenched the small acorn, as anger soon welled within every fiber of her being. She was about to throw it out the adjacent window that was opened in the kitchen, but just as she was about to throw it, she stopped.
She lowered her arm and slowly glanced back at the acorn. Was she really going to expel her anger and despair over an inanimate object?
"No..."
She thought, as she placed the acorn back on the kitchen countertop.
"I've got to get out of Elmore...this town has nothing left to keep me here anymore..."
Upon regaining her senses and composure, she slowly rubbed the water striations that had been left in her fur on her face, and slowly rose from her crouching position; to an upright standing one in the kitchen.
After taking one last assessment of the apartment's surroundings, the place of residence she had called her home for two years here in Elmore with Richard Watterson, she swiftly made her way to one of the kitchen drawers where the phone directory had been.
She swiftly flipped the pages of the Yellow Book, until she reached the category of: Elmore Transportation and Travel services.
She navigated the pages margins with her unsheathed claw until she reached the number for a local Greyhound Bus depot.
She promptly took out her flip phone, and dialed the appropriate number.
"Let's hope they still have buses taking routes out of town this evening..."
The phone's deadpan tone as it rang to establish connection to the other line felt like an eternity to Nicole, SURELY they were not this busy at this hour in the evening?
Before she could contemplate her frustration further, the other line had picked up her call.
"Elmore Greyhound bus services, how can I assist you this evening Sir or Madam?"
A groggily voice could be heard on the other line, as Nicole quickly cleared her throat to speak.
"Yes, hello? I'm calling to inquire if there are any bus routes being taken outside of the Elmore metropolitan area this evening?"
Nicole asked in as formal of a tone as she could muster, desperately attempting to not let her anguish and heartbreak from this evening not show up in her voice.
The groggy voice on the other end soon sighed, before audible flipping of pages could be heard.
"One second Madam, I'll check our directory and bus routes for this evening; would you mind if I put you on hold for a moment?"
The groggy voice soon implemented a slightly more enthusiastic tone and demeanor in their voice, as Nicole glanced down at her paw, which was tapping the countertop with her index claw.
"Ye-yes, that's fine thank you."
A rather rudimentary and cliché tune began to play on the other end, indicating that the young blue female feline had been put on hold. In that time, she walked over to the apartment window to the streets of Elmore below.
The neon light across the street was illuminating her face in a red and purple aura, as cars continued to stream on the streets; as pedestrians were walking on the adjacent sidewalks.
A subway train junction was bustling just above their apartment, the G train route had arrived to the station once more. The same route that Nicole had used to make her daily commute to the Elmore factory for the past two years...she was going to miss that quiet ride to work every morning, as it helped provide a sense of tranquility and clairvoyance to her thoughts before her 9 to 5 shift.
The train would always arrive on schedule without delay or interruption at 5 o'clock sharp.
She would usually be the first one to step foot on one of the compartments, sitting in her usual spot on the train, not too far away from the sliding door exits.
She did recollect a memory of when she first started taking the route, and 3 anthro men, wolves, tried to get a little TOO assertive and close to her...but there was nothing like a few broken orbital bones, ribs, and sternum couldn't incentivize them from ever taking the same G train she rode on ever again...
From that point onward, the only other occupants at that hour, were a young anthro Raccoon husband and wife couple and their son, who they would accompany each other along for the young anthro's daily commute to kindergarten. She always would smile when she saw them sit a few seats down from her, and soon the young anthro child had grown comfortable enough; would sit beside Nicole. The blue feline would converse and make silly faces to cheer up the young boy up, and would even talk to the parents, and would soon discover that her and Richard lived in the same apartment complex as them. The father, Alex, was a simple office marketing employee, who had a quiet job in one of the major corporative skyscrapers that lined the financial district of Elmore. A simple, yet quiet job in a cubicle, amongst a sea of cubicles. Amanda, the mother and wife, had a quiet job as well, being an employee for a gift shop not too far in proximity to the financial district where her husband worked. The pay was nothing to write home about, but she always professed to Nicole that as long as you enjoy and are passionate about what you do for a living, the pay is indifferent to you. As she stated herself: "I have a quiet job, a loving husband, and a beautiful son, and we get by with love and commitment...that's what makes it all worth it for me."
Those words had remained engrained in the subconsciousness of Nicole ever since...she had hoped to find that feeling she had talked about one day, but with recent events transpiring...she didn't really have the mental energy nor healthy state of mind to be thinking about raising a family right now.
She then thought of their young son, Zach. She always loved that name that they had given him, and he certainly was a boisterous and rambunctious, yet precocious young raccoon.
He truly was like the little brother Nicole never had, and really, the sibling she had always longed for...it was rather lonely being at home with her strict and regimented parents, Mary and Daniel, and not having a sibling to converse or play fun games and activities...and Zach, even if it was for a few occasions on the train or during the holidays throughout the year, or even for the kid's birthday...it felt like she had a little brother of her own.
Richard and her had invited them over to their apartment for Thanksgiving and Christmas on both occasions, and for once in Nicole's life...it felt like she had truly found a family of her own...
Before Nicole could continue reminiscing on past memories, the jingle had ceased to play on the other line of the phone call she was on with the bus company, and the groggy receptionist returned on the other line.
"Hey Ma'am, are you still there? Sorry about the wait, we have been experiencing an abnormal influx of departures this evening."
The young blue feline soon stood at attention once again, and placed the phone closer to her ear.
"That's not a problem at all, sir. Did you return with any news?"
The female feline asked in anticipation and anxiousness.
The groggy male voice on the other end now began to speak once more.
"Well there's good news and bad news. which would you rather hear first?"
Nicole pinched the crevasse above her nose, and sighed.
"I...guess it would be best to get the bad news out of the way first I suppose..."
The young feline stated in a melancholy tone in her voice.
"Very well, the route you are taking out of Elmore is going to be crossing through San Francisco and towards the Golden Gate bridge out of town. The catch to this, is that there has been a major influx of traffic there since the evening rush hour."
Nicole sighed.
"And the good news, sir?"
"The good news is that local PD, Fire Department, and road crews from San Francisco and other municipalities say that the traffic jam on the bridge should be resolving itself shortly, and you'll be on your way out of town wherever you wish to go...so Ma'am? Is this the bus you wish to take this evening?"
The groggy voice asked, as Nicole nodded to herself.
"Yes...yes that's the route I wish to take, please and thank you."
"Very well, your bus is numbered as 502, and should be departing our depot in an hour. Safe and happy travels, miss. Have a wonderful evening!"
"You too..."
The line then cut, indicating that the call had ended; as Nicole placed her flip phone back into her work uniform skirt pocket.
She then glanced around the apartment, before committing her attention to the washroom.
"A quick shower should suffice for now, I still have an hour..."
Nicole quickly removed her work uniform, and stepped inside the shower.
Letting the water cascade over her body, gave some peace of mind to what had been a traumatizing revelation just moments ago, as she cleaned the surface of her fur and skin, in soapy, sudsy, body wash.
After 15 minutes, she was dried up and fresh.
She quickly brushed her teeth, ensuring her canines were at least hygienic, she wasn't sure when she was going to get off of her bus on this road trip...she's not sure if she wants to ever get off the bus once she gets on this evening...
She quickly put on a fresh set of clothes as well, which consisted of her favorite blue jeans, and grey hoodie.
She picked up her purse and workbag, placing any of her remaining belongings in the apartment in a suitcase that her father Daniel had given her for her birthday for family vacations when she was 17.
As she was about to leave, she glanced back at the apartment that was truly her first "Home". A place of solace, love, and memories...no longer.
The only memory that left any indication of a young couple that was once there, was single acorn that laid on the kitchen counter...
She took a deep breath, and shut the door behind her.
1 Hour Later
After she had finished crying shortly after boarding the bus with the other anthro passengers, Nicole was soon awoken by someone nudging her on the arm.
"Hey? Hey? Are you awake?"
A soft female voice whispered, as Nicole's eyes fluttered awake, as she yawned.
"Oh excellent!"
The female voice exclaimed in a rather loud tone.
Nicole was soon flustered, as she looked around the bus to see the other passengers half asleep like herself. Adjacent to her though in the row opposite to her, was a female anthro snow leopard.
"Hey! Would you mind keeping it down! You're going to wake up the rest of the passengers on this bus you fool!"
Nicole retorted back to the female snow leopard.
"Oh no worries, kiddo! They can't hear me!"
The female snow leopard now said in an audible tone loud enough for the entire bus to hear her.
"God damn it, stop!"
Nicole once again used a stern and commanding whispering tone, as the young female snow leopard chuckled.
"Hmmm...she STILL doesn't understand, huh?"
The female snow leopard then gave a humoristic operatic singing voice, loud enough for everyone in the bus, and the surrounding cars on the bridge to hear her.
Nicole covered her ears with her paws, before the snow leopard ceased her singing.
"See? Nothing!"
Nicole was flabbergasted.
"Wha-...who are you?"
"The name is Alyssa, sweetheart! But you can just call me Liz for short! Everyone back home does!"
Nicole, still flabbergasted by the fact that the snow leopard was not heard by her bombastic and loud voice, just gave a confused expression.
"Nicole...my name is Nicole..."
The snow leopard chuckled.
"Oh, you don't need to introduce yourself, sweetie! I already know who you are! As a matter of fact...you're the sole reason I am even on this bus this evening! Gotta say though, I forgot how much of a drag traffic jams could be..."
Nicole was now more skeptical and apprehensive to this girl more than ever, as she put on an annoyed expression.
"Look...I don't know who the hell you are "Liz", and frankly? I don't think I want to, so please, for the rest of this bus ride can you leave me alone?"
Nicole asked in annoyed whisper, as the female snow leopard smirked and shrugged her shoulders.
"Very well! As you wish your majesty! But...just know that I think we'll be seeing each other MUCH sooner than you anticipated..."
Nicole stopped rummaging around in her bag for a moment, before rolling her eyes and turning back to face Alyssa.
"Oh yeah? And what makes you think-"
But before Nicole could finish sentence, Alyssa was no longer in the next seat beside her on the bus.
The blue feline glanced around and assessed the bus, but the snow leopard had truly vanished.
Before Nicole could question her sanity any further, a scream could be heard outside the bus window.
She could see a group form en masse at one of the railings on the bridge, as she moved out of her seat to exit the bus.
She ran past all of the vehicles that had been idling on the bridge from the jam, most with vacant occupancy due to the commotion she was heading towards.
"HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP MY SON!"
A woman could be heard pleading at the top of her lungs, as Nicole drew closer to the crowd. The rain that was now gently falling had turned into a downpour, as Nicole desperately tried to cover her head with her hoodie hood, trying to not get wet.
As she maneuvered past the crowd, she could see a young anthro mother eagle, desperately trying to reach her son, who had slipped over the railing, and was now hanging on for dear life.
The father eagle pulled his fiancé back.
"Honey, stay here, I'll get him!"
Nicole soon ran into action, and stopped the father from mounting the railing.
"NO! I'm more agile! I'll get your son back to you unharmed and safe!"
The father eagle looked at her with confusion at first, surprised at first by the young feline's determination to help a complete stranger, but soon nodded.
"Okay, but be careful miss, the traction is not very stable on the other side! Please get our son back to us!"
Nicole took a deep breath, before flipping over the railing, using her acrobatic agility to fling the young eagle back to his parents, before using her claw to dig into the concrete foundation of the bridge to catch herself from falling.
But before she could start climbing herself, her foot slipped, and the shock of the loss of traction caused her to lose her focus and grip on her claws.
"No!"
The family of Eagles soon exclaimed in abject horror, as Nicole soon fell into the abyss of San Francisco bay.
Darkness soon followed as she plunged into the water...
Nicole slowly opened her eyes.
"Am...am I...dead?"
The young feline thought to herself, as she soon rose to gain a bearing on her surroundings.
She was...in a sunny park, but it wasn't the park in Elmore...no...this was different.
She could hear laughter from children playing on the nearby playground, anthros just like her...happy and cheerful?
Before Nicole could look around any further, she soon glanced up at the gorgeous blue sky, to see a plane advertising a banner.
"New Haven...construction"? New Haven?!"
Before Nicole could understand just where she had landed after her fall into the bay, a familiar snow leopard soon sat beside her.
"Soooooooooooo...I did say you were going to see me sooner than you anticipated, didn't I?"
END OF CHAPTER