There is a unique set of pills for every day of the week.
Today I had Wednesday’s bottle of pills.
Before every meal, we were expected to consume them. Wednesday’s pink pill was meant to create a rush of excitement in the middle of the work week.
Sometimes that backfired. Some people would forget and take another. Or forget to take any at all. It’s the people that take more than one within a few hours that caused the most trouble. Their energy levels would skyrocket and instead of sitting at their desk or at work with loads of enthusiasm, they’d upturn their desks. Run out of meetings. Throw their computers across the room.
The scariest cases are when they run out of a building headlong into traffic. Or decide to drive their cars off a bridge.
Wednesdays are never a dull day.
And that’s why I walk with dread to work every Wednesday morning.
Don’t get me wrong, excitement is great and all, but when you drive a double-decker bus that weighs around 13 tons, you’re not exactly excited by the idea of people running into traffic.
That’s why complacent Fridays are the best day of the week for me. It is when people are at their most agreeable. It’s the day of the week that makes the rest of it feel worth it. Smiling faces. And most importantly, no one dares to run into the road.
But, unfortunately, it’s not Friday. And Wednesdays are what I like to call my own personal day in hell. Especially since drivers are given half doses of the pink pill, so my days are filled with almost highs. So, when a sorry son of a bitch runs into the road and I slam on my breaks at full force, I’m not nearly as excited by the encounter as the guy who made it out alive is.
All too often I watch them jump into action and finish their run across the street never offering a glance back. My heart always ends up feeling like it’s been ripped from my chest and I’ve had an encounter with the devil himself. And you’d think all 120 passengers I’m lugging around would be frightened and pissed off, too, but they just shout “Wee” and put their hands up like it’s a damned rollercoaster.
As I began my route that morning, the day felt stranger than usual. The woman that I picked up on 2nd and Madison tipped my day over the edge of the usual. She was gorgeous. Her hair was the color of ivory and had been braided down her back to expose the pale slope of her neck. When she walked up the stairs of the bus, she smiled at me. A smile that seemed to speak directly to my soul. For the first time in my life, I felt as if I was truly being seen.
Her bright emerald eyes blazed across my vision until the last stop of the day.
And then there she was standing in front of me.
“Hello,” she said.
“Uh, hello there miss,” I said. “Ma’am you realize that you’ve been on this bus for the better part of the day. Well, by now actually, you’ve been on here nearly as long as I have. You’re the last one here, is there anywhere I can take you?”
“Actually, I am already where I desire to be. The name is Eliza,” she said while offering her hand in greeting.
Taking her hand, I said, “Nice to meet you Miss Eliza.”
And now was about the time that I started to realize how truly strange this woman was. Her eyes sparkled. No one’s eyes sparkled. And her features seemed so… animated.
“Can I take you somewhere?” she asked.
“Well sure, lead the way,” I said.
She bounced her way down the steps. Locking up the bus, I followed her. She led me to this park that overlooked the city that hadn’t been far from my last stop. Along the way, she’d remained ahead and silent.
At the park, she plopped onto the grass and patted the space next to her.
As I lowered my body down, she began to speak, “Why have you not been asking me questions?”
“Well…I’m not—”
“Yes, you’re right, you are not quite sure. I will tell you why. It is because today is not the day for questioning. If you take the right set of pills every day, you will notice there is never a day that you feel much for questioning what is happening around you. Within you I can see that the questions wish to take place.”
“The questions?”
“Yes, see, that is better. Tonight, I want you to do something for me.”
“Anything, what would you like?”
“Go home and take each pill for every day of the week at the same time.”
“Okay.”
“I have done what I can for you, but now I must move on and you must not seek me out after this moment.”
“Okay,” I said as I remained unable to comprehend the task that she had requested of me. I could not understand why someone would decide to do just a thing, but I decided to listen to her. As she walked away, I stood up and made my way back to my loft apartment.
After I swallowed the pink, green, blue, black, purple, white, and orange pills in the same gulp, I understood. I saw the world around me with such a sharp clarity that I realized how unhappy I was with my life.
The next day, I walked up to my boss and quit. As I walked out into the streamlined flow of people, I began to search. Not for those same emerald eyes, but for a new pair that needed to question.
July 12th, 2020 – Flash Fiction Challenge Entry