Prologue – The Way to Mecchen House

I was tapping away at the keyboard when I heard Nathan approach behind me. I didn’t say anything at first. I just adjusted my glasses and continued typing. He took a deep breath.

“Dude, you really need some time out. How long have you been staring at that screen?” Nathan rested a beefy arm against a bookshelf. A manga book tumbled off. He coughed a little and crouched down to get it. “Sorry about that. I’ll umm… I’ll put it…” He aimed the book all over the shelf. Not a single inch was open. He glanced over at the other bookshelves. It was the same.

I smirked. “Just leave it on the bed for now.” Nathan liked hanging out in my room while I worked. I could never really figure out why, but we were old friends, so it was no problem.

He claimed he liked the “art of girls” on my walls and the “female figurines” which covered the available space. I wasn’t one to speculate on his motives. He was quiet and respectful of my room, if occasionally clumsy. It seemed like his muscular, six-foot form was too much for him to handle.

He set it on the bed and sat down himself. He brushed his hair and turned to face the oscillating fan. He looked around. “Is that cute blue-haired one in the swimsuit new? I don’t remember seeing her before.”

I was at the end of a section, so I saved and turned to look. She was new. I didn’t remember her myself. Nor did I remember the one next to her with bright, blond hair and a modest, black velvet maid’s outfit. The redhead, though, I thought I remembered. She had on a dark blue top with swimming trunks. She looked so demure with her glasses on. She was blushing a little. She wasn’t as busty as the other two, but she had a very lovely figure. And the right height too.

“I don’t remember most of the figures I get. They’re just room décor.” Nathan frowned and put his hands behind his head. “That’s a shame.” I went back to my work, but Nathan had come into my room with a purpose and wasn’t quite so easily distracted from that purpose.

“You need some time out. Come on, all that computer stuff will wait on a trip out somewhere. We can drag Jamie along too.” I had to admit that sounded quite tempting. I was beginning to nod off when he came in. I was beginning to nod off even now. My head drooped.

“I rest my case,” said Nathan, with a playful snicker. I sat up in my chair, frowned, and told him, “It’s not a matter of choice. This is absolutely due tomorrow, or I’ll be in serious trouble.”

Allow me to explain. Nathan Gravina, Jamie Harrison, and I all lived in the same apartment. We were three guys just out of college. Nathan had a job helping out at his father’s gym. I coded for a small company. And Jamie was, as one might say, intentionally-wedged between professions.

Having Nathan around was a big deal since I tended to get lost working on something and then realize it’s been three days since I’ve had a shower. Jamie was also served by the motivation Nathan provided, no matter if it was just pushing him out the door so he could go look in at the employment office. All in all, I think we went together well.

I nodded off again. Nathan sighed. “You need a few minutes at least, outside and walking. It’ll get your body rejuvenated.” His words held a tempting allure. I could barely feel my legs at this point, and I think my monitor was going wonky as well. Or was it my eyes?

I took a deep breath, saved where I was with duplicates to the external drive, and shut down the computer. I thought I almost heard a sound of relief from it.

Nathan jumped up. “I’ll go rouse Jamie. Be just a minute.” I saved the effort of nodding and used it to stand. I blinked a few times and turned up the overhead lamp in the room. I glanced around for my shoes. They were by the only bookshelf with enough space to wedge a book in. I snuck the manga on the bed in there, slipped on a pair of socks, and coughed a few times. My lungs burned slightly, like I’d been sleeping on my chest for a long time.

In the brighter light, I noticed a few of my figures needed dusting. I reminded myself to take care of that tomorrow. Also, the three figures caught my eye again. There was something about them. Were they posed differently from a moment ago? I shook my head and slipped on my shoes. I really did need to get out.

I stopped by the bathroom to pick up my wallet and keys. I looked in the mirror. My face appeared haggard, unshaven. My eyes seemed worn and shaded. I brushed my mop-like, dark hair with a hand and smiled with half my face. I cleaned up a little, mostly polishing my glasses. I splashed water on my face and spritzed deodorant on my body.

I took one last look, then switched the lights off. I could see Nathan and Jamie from the hallway. Jamie looked as bleary as I felt. Still, his bright, blond hair shimmered in the dim light through the window.

“Kelly, would you please tell him today is my day off?”

Nathan sighed. “And how would that be different from any other day?”

“Cause it’s my legitimate day off.”

I raised my hands and, with the wisdom of Solomon or some such, settled the matter. “We are all going out a bit for a walk. Where are we going again?”

Nathan gestured to the door. “We are going for some time outside. The air is getting stagnant in here. The day is beautiful and the air is crisp.”

Jamie raised a finger. “Actually, the rated air-quality in this area is ninth-worst in the nation.”

“It’s still better than the air in here. Come on! We can do this. It’s just a little walk.” Nathan’s enthusiasm seemed boundless. I had to admire that.

Jamie frowned. “No bus?”

“No, we’re going by bipedal locomotion. Our two feet.”

“My feet are stiff,” noted Jamie.

“Because they need a stretch!” Even in matters of resisting activity, as in all other things, Jamie’s resolve wasn’t terribly resilient. He shrugged and acquiesced without any further conflict.

I left the apartment last, with the others already at the steps. Somehow, as I turned to switch off the light, I felt a weird sensation. I sniffed the air. No gas, but it did smell stagnant like Nathan said. Also, there was a faint smell like baked cookies. Everything was set to idle or off. It had to be from another apartment. With a shrug, I switched off the last light and locked the door behind me.

-----

Jamie was loitering at the top of the steps. I could see in the afternoon glow he had on his Superman shirt and black, frayed jeans. It was his normal uniform. Despite the fact I knew he hadn’t shaved in a while, his chin looked clean and fresh. He glanced over at me and tattled, “He’s jogging around the pool down there. Can you believe that?”

I glanced three floors down, over the railing, and saw that Jamie was indeed correct. “He’s never been short on exuberance. Come on, a walk won’t kill us.”

I gave Jamie a playful sock on the shoulder. He scoffed, “Going from zero to active has been known to have negative health effects. It’s always the guy who’s a health nut and goes running who is found dead from a sudden heart attack.”

I overlooked the fact his statement kinda contradicted itself, let out a long breath, and told Jamie, “We're barely into our twenties...”

I could tell from Jamie’s huffy demeanor that he was gearing up for a prize tale. I folded my arms and listened attentively. “Oh yeah? Well, with Nathan that’s no big deal. But the Harrison name is full of incidents that have befallen us. My great-great-grandfather died of a heart attack at twelve. Twelve, I tell you!”

I yawned lightly and winced a bit from the light of the sun through the overhangs. A bird with an intricate song called out, then flew from a branch.  

“You wouldn’t exist if that were true,” was all I said in response.

“Oh yeah? Well, you have a girl’s name.” It was a typical Jamie, I-have-no-explanation reaction and prompted my typical comeback: “I sure do. Jamie.”

We’d had this exchange so many times that it’d simply come to denote a truce in a disagreement. Nathan called out to us. We ambled down the steps to the inter courtyard.

Nathan pumped his fist. “Yeah! This is awesome, huh? It’s the perfect afternoon.” Nathan’s plump lips tightened in a smile. He had on his gray training shirt and cotton pants with tiger stripes down the side. His brown skin shimmered with sweat. I adjusted my glasses.

“Where are we going?” was all I asked.

Nathan cleared his throat. “Well, I was thinking we could go to that shop downtown with all the… You know… Anime stuff.”

I could see Nathan was trying to reach out to me.

Jamie scratched at his head. “What’s anime?”

I turned to Jamie and uttered simply, “Thursday nights.” I’d made a habit of watching at least three shows each Thursday night on the living room TV. Nathan would sit, observe, and sorta study me but would go in and out without paying too much attention to the show I had on.

Jamie nodded with a soft grumble. “The foreign toons. So, they have figures? DVDs? …Food?”

“You’ll see,” said Nathan, setting the pace.

The air was thick with summer. Things buzzed in the air. Aromas wafted. My eyes burned ever so slightly with the aura of pollen. The wind picked up, which took the edge off the summer heat but also made me cough. Jamie still seemed to sulk with every stride. Nathan didn’t seem to notice. He was pointing out signs in a gas station window.

After a couple of blocks, I could feel myself getting into the spirit of the occasion. I began humming the ending theme to an anime I’d been watching recently. Jamie rolled his eyes.

The trip was mostly downhill, which I pointed out to Jamie.

“Which means it’ll be mostly uphill coming back,” was his reply. I decided to catch up with Nathan. He seemed quite happy.

“It’s not far.”

-----

He was right. The road was light with traffic. The route was a little meandering but nothing troubling for the way back. Was this downtown? I never imagined it so quiet. A bus ambled by but that was all. None of the shops seemed open. Nathan grimaced a little. “Weird. Well, we still have a ways to go. I don’t remember any kind of holiday today.”

Jamie looked weary, but less due to the absence of people and more due to the length of the walk thus far. I was somewhat befuddled as to how downtown could be so vacant. From our apartment complex there was just the gas station at the corner, the bushy areas we passed, then a strip of shops shaped like an X along two roads. Sure, they were more mom-and-pop places but at the very least on a weekend, in the afternoon, you’d see a little more activity than this.

Nathan seemed lost. He sighed and led us to the downtown intersection. “We can cut through the thicket right up ahead.” The path Nathan was talking about looked well-worn but dense with bowed trees on both sides. It didn’t seem intentionally made, but the path appeared nice. The prospect of more nature made me sneeze reflexively. Jamie folded his arms in protest but wasn’t at the point where he was willing to walk back on his own. He did ask, “Are you sure this is the right way?”

Nathan tightened his lips. “Fairly confident. I just went this way on Friday, and it was bustling with people. People using the path up ahead too. It’s quite short. Come on. Just a little ways.”

It was pleasant under the trees. They grew close like some great, green extended gateway, a natural tunnel. The air was cool and thick with moisture. For a moment, I was sure Jamie had smiled faintly in the shade. It was a pleasant area, much nicer than the roadside. The wind whispered through the trees.

 

And something more. I turned my head while walking but didn’t slow my pace. I heard a voice following the air. It was a gentle, girlish voice speaking in a strange tongue. I figured it was just someone in their backyard. Maybe a Spanish TV station set too loud.

I looked through the tangled branches. All I saw behind them was the afternoon glow and more branches. I rubbed my right eye. It was a little irritated but nothing serious. I looked ahead.

The path dipped and rose in places. You could never see very far down it. One thing I did notice was the trees seemed to be spreading apart. Or were we getting smaller? I chuckled to myself, which made Jamie flash me a dirty look. I rolled my eyes in reply and caught up to Nathan.

“Quite an adventure. This is a shortcut right?” Nathan seemed surprised to hear me and looked over. He cleared his throat. “It’s a little different than I remember but I’m sure we took the right path.”

His prior energy was still there but bundled up into a nervous ball. Jamie caught up too. “So. There’s a ‘store’…is there?” He scratched at his elbows.

Nathan stopped walking. “We should’ve gotten there by now. This is way too long. We clearly took the wrong path. We’re going to have to double back.”

Jamie scoffed. “Really now?!” Nathan’s eyes drifted around. They caught mine. I socked Jamie in the elbow. “Go easy on him. He didn’t mean anything. It’s easy to get lost. You got lost on your way to the post office to mail my letters last week.”

Jamie rubbed his arm. “That was different. I wasn’t with someone who had fifty pounds more muscle than me.” That was a low blow. I remembered when Nathan spoke during Health Day at a nearby elementary school. I visited him at the end. I’d never seen a guy gentler with children. I’d told Nathan on numerous occasions he should teach PE, but I was usually met with shrugs and, “I’ll think about it.”

Nathan looked at his feet. He crouched a little and conceded, “I can lead the way back.”

With a turn of his head, Jamie seemed ready to say something else, but I stepped between him and Nathan. I gave him the most intense look I could manage. I probably looked like I was constipated instead, but he got the message.

Jamie just said, “Cool.” I followed close to him. I tried to keep the same look. Jamie tired of it after a while and whispered to me, “What? Are you my den mother or something? Sheesh.” I eased up gradually and moved closer to Nathan.

His eyes evaded mine. I really felt for him. The whole walk had backfired. Getting us together and out just drove us apart. Well, at least it was almost over.

I recognized the look of the other side of the hill near the entrance. I suspected Jamie would just head back. Maybe I could talk to Nathan a bit, make him feel a little better before we headed back too. Maybe find the store on our own.

We cleared the hill. But there was more path. So, we kept going. We spent much more time walking than I remembered. More and more path.

The argument Jamie had with Nathan seemed to flutter from his mind. “What’s going on? We should be out by now! This is impossible. We kept going one way. Is this a maze? A circle! It’s gotta be a circle. No. A dream. It’s a dream.”