The Vagabond Girl of Nothingtown

Chapter 6: A Train Ride Going Nowhere

       I will tell you now dear reader, that the conspiracy of the Blue Suns is one that is still yet to be resolved. Just like how I previously stated that no magical portals to other realms exist in this story, no heroic missions of heist, time travel, spying, or otherwise extraordinary events exist in the story either. I am just an ordinary man, an ordinary writer who lived in Nothingtown. In fact, I contemplated leaving this bit about the Blue Suns out completely. Perhaps the only reason I have not is the same reason as Dandelion's father, my conscious, the innate human drive to tell the truth, to do what is good for other humans. If you see these strange men wearing suits with a blue sun crests, then my advice to you is the same as Dandelion's father's. Run, run as far as you can. In the real world corruption runs rampant and thus there is not always a hero that rises up to the challenge especially if they are just an ordinary man. This story isn't about that, this story is about the girl who sat across from me raised in the woods far away from society. Who cares what life her parents led?

With that said, these are absolutely only thoughts I had after looking at the situation in retrospect. If I had to objectively describe my emotions after finding out Dandelion's past, I will simply say that for the first time in approximately 21 years, I came dangerously close to wetting myself.

"This... this is a dream right?" I thought, "I... I didn't ask for this. What the hell do I do? Contact my parents? But that would only place them in danger too."

I felt powerless, that I was the most unfortunate man in the world for stumbling upon such a conspiracy. So alone, no one I could share this dangerous secret with... except for of course...

"It'll be okay,"

A gentle hand placed itself on my head. With all the intrusive thoughts and fears consuming my head, I did not notice I had curled myself up into a ball.

"It'll be okay," Dandelion repeated patting my head. In that moment I wanted to puke. I wanted to scream, to cry, to jump off the train though my twisted ankle likely would have prevented this. I wanted to do so many things, even lash out at Dandelion. Who the hell was she anyways? Why did she drag me into her life, into danger, into the unknown? But when I looked at her and saw her smile, a smile only there to cheer me up, a smile in spite of the fact her situation was much worse than mine, a brave smile, from an extraordinary girl, all those thoughts dissipated and my head cooled. I may be an ordinary man, but what right did I have to complain in that moment?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few hours passed by peacefully as the two of us lied down on top of the hay stacks and looked up at the sky. The sky today filled with small clouds some of which covered the sunlight so it did not shine too brightly on our faces. In all honesty, it was one of the nicest days in terms of weather I had ever experienced. When I asked Dandelion how long she felt it appropriate we stay on the train, she simply stated:

"Until night."

Usually at this time of day if I had not eaten any food, I'd have been hungry beyond belief. But the overwhelming weight of it all meant food was the last thing on my mind. The clouds above my head looked so free, detached from all the worries of the world, going from place to place with no real home. If I really think about it, it was kind of like...

"Rabbit,"

My thoughts were interrupted by the soft voice next to me.

"Rabbit?"

I looked around to inspect the cart for any signs of critters.

"What are you talking about Dandelion? I don't see any Rabbits."