A Trio of Anomalies - The Quest for Paradise

CHAPTER 12 - 3 LILY WATER WAY

"ALL ABOARD!!"

He woke up with a jump, nearly deafened by the loud whistle from the golden train. His mind was in a whirl, trying to process the sudden wave of noises from the people chattering, their rushing footsteps and the deafening train itself! He squinted to watch a blurry yellow shape pull into a tunnel, puffing out steam while clanking on the tracks. He hugged his olive green backpack before shutting his eyes, his head hurting from his poor vision. There wasn't anything much to see anyways. All he saw were blurry silhouettes of people rushing here and there, and once he got used to the chaos he reached into his backpack and felt the case holding his golden glasses.

He put them on carefully to survey the train station better, tilting his head to read the Fantasian signs hanging from the ceiling. Through them he was led towards a washroom, allowing him to clean himself using the toiletries he brought along.

"Grass," he walked warily out of the washroom, "grass ... grass ... grass ... grass ..."

He glanced around anxiously, "Alright, it's working. Just think of grass, and everything would be fine."

After finishing another packet of biscuits he put on his backpack and headed out of the train station, the dark green hoodie under his light blue jacket pulled tight over his head. The last thing he wanted was someone else to tell him that he died fighting Cackle, even worse playing it off as something noble. As he skipped along he kept his head low, trying his best to acknowledge the friendly nods from the people walking past him while still blocking any thoughts regarding his mission or the fact he was deemed a knight by a fairy ruler who ironically saved him from eternal petrification.

He loosened up once he was out of the station however, removing his hoodie to let his hair bathe in the bright yellow sunlight. Everyone was way too busy wandering through the sparkling train station to acknowledge him, and surely Queen Blossom had rules against reading someone's mind without their consent. He was given a map of the city by a fairy at its golden entrance, and after reading a few short articles of the various places he traced his way towards Sludge District. As he skipped along he made a mental note to tour the kingdom one day when the trio were back together and they somehow acquired a sum of money. They weren't exactly ... paid ... unless it was in the form of erasing injuries and granting wishes to get home. Eh, he could live with that.

He was surprised to find the morning rather gloomy and dark, for huge clouds blocked the short-lived ray of sunlight, anticipating a huge downpour. The people around him were unfazed by the rolling clouds however, and he guessed that it was a more common occurrence than the expected dreamlike atmosphere and uplifting sunshine. Following the Fantasian map carefully he skipped through streets on a stony white road, eyeing tall buildings painted in different shades of blue. In those buildings were not only fairies, but also various literary creatures similar to Scribblehopper, literary cats getting their fur trimmed at hair salons, literary rabbits hopping around bargaining groceries and testing out running sneakers, literary birds working tirelessly in offices while occasionally getting a snack at the trail mix vending machine, even literary frogs getting their new coats and suits from various tailoring shops. In a way he was mildly creeped out by the fact that they all walked on two legs and spoke in perfect Fantasian, however he didn't mind them at all as they were just as amiable and respectful like the fairies.

That day was certainly leading up to a downpour indeed, for he noticed the tall street lamps lighting their surroundings as if it was already sunset. The wind roared in his ears, carrying brown and blue-grey leaves from one place to another.