buildings. They didn’t look too great and were all dingy. Balconies had blankets and towels drying while a webbing of clotheslines hung over back alleys. The roofs were all varying types of worn metal. Most were green but a few were bright and copper. A streetcar made its way slowly down the biggest street. Most people walked. A few small vehicles struggled through the pedestrian centric streets. The smell of industry and progress met my nose and I coughed.
I wandered through back alleys trying to find someone who would talk to me. I don’t know how I looked but the citizens here turned their noses up at me when I passed. They could probably sense my foreignness. They all wore gray overalls and carried small lunch pails.
I tried several streets before coming out onto the main road. It was crowded. People bustled to their destinations. Seeing that it was near evening I assumed workers were heading home. The street was filled with little restaurants and shops. As the evening came the lights on their signs flickered on. They were bright, but I could read them better. I kept an eye out for a doctor’s office.
A few blocks later I came to the Amna Hotel. I thought it was better to get settled and see if someone there knew where a doctor was. The building was a little run down but I didn’t expect much better in that city. The lobby was dreary and brown. The front desk was small. A young woman sat behind it. My mouth dropped open. It was Ramonia.
“Can I help you?” She said. She didn’t give the impression that she recognized me.
I wasn’t in the mood to try and force her to remember me.
“Hello, I don’t have any money but I really need to stay at this hotel.”
“Name?” She said jadedly.
“I don’t have a reservation.”
“Name.” She repeated.
“Lawrence Foster Brickem.”
“Yes, here you are. You do have a reservation.”
“I do?”
I took a look at her notebook and saw my name scribbled in it. It was the only name there.
“Yes.” She said dully. “A man came by and made the reservation for you yesterday. He said you should be in sometime after trying on hats. How did that go?”
“Um, it was fine.”
“Great.” She said even more dully. “Here is your key. You are in room one. It is on the second floor. Have a good stay.”
“Oh wait; do you know where any doctors are?”
“There is one near the water a few blocks over. He has a large sign. You should see it if you go straight to the water from here.”
“Okay, thanks. I’m going to settle in the room and then I will go.”
I took the key and went up the stairs. Room one was the first room on my right on the second floor. I opened the door and grimaced at the room. There was a bed and a small table in the little room. The bed was small and wasn’t even made. A blanket, a sheet, and a pillow sat atop a very old and very tattered mattress. Large bugs scurried around the floors and the window was cracked and didn’t have any curtains. I quickly made the bed and sat Ambrose down on it. He looked worse than ever. His face had turned a sickly gray and he was sweating terribly. I then went to the window and opened it as wide as I could, hoping the fresh air would get rid of the smell of mildew. I had a nice view of the water from there and some boats sailing across it. He would most likely be better off going with me, but I wanted to get done quickly and so left him there.
“I’m going to see if I can find you a doctor.” I said peacefully.
“Don’t leave me.” He moaned.
Tears welled up in my eyes at the sad sight. “I’ll be right back. You will be safe here.”
I kissed him on the forehead and backed slowly out of the room. I ran down the stairs and out the door. The city was still bustling, but it was a little quieter now. I crossed the street with some other people, narrowly missing getting hit by a man in a three wheel automobile, and walked briskly toward the coast.
The sea breeze felt lovely on my face. I scanned the shops and saw a large sign for a doctor. The door was locked. I banged on the glass door. A man only a few years older than I was opened the door.
“I’m closed. Don’t you see the hours?”
“I need you. There is a boy at the hotel that needs someone.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s have a look.”
He came with me back to the hotel. I let him in the room and he went straight to work. He didn’t bring any equipment with him. I stood nearby as he asked Ambrose some questions and felt his head. After a few minutes he took me out into the hall.
“I can’t find anything wrong with him.”
“Get your stethoscope. Bring some thermometers or something and see if he has a fever. We were in a really cold climate earlier.”
He shook his head. “He doesn’t have a temperature or anything.”
“There are a lot of things that could be wrong with him that don’t require a temperature.”
“I’m sorry but I’m telling you I don’t know what’s wrong.”
I paced the hallway. “Are there any more doctors?”
“I’m it here.”
“You have to do something. He looks worse than ever.”
“I can’t do anything if there is nothing wrong with him.”
“Look at him!” I shouted. “Can’t you see he’s not well?”
“I will come back in the morning and see how he looks.”
The doctor went down the stairs and left the hotel. I silently opened the door and stepped into the room. Ambrose looked to me. He was ailing and I couldn’t do anything.
“What did he say?” The boy asked.
“He’s going to come back in the morning.”
I knelt beside the bed and stroked his hair. He was the only person I met that was the same as me. He knew of a past before this world and traveled the same way I did. I had to get him better. He was my only friend.
13. The Streetcar and the Vendors
It was getting late. The masses gradually thinned outside. I sat in a chair near the window and watched Ambrose struggle to breath in the bed. He was getting worse all the time. I glanced out the window and examined the boats coming and going. They blew their whistles as they passed each other. I wished that my life made as much sense as theirs did.
I went over what the wizard told us. He said that we had to fall asleep and that we would end up in the place with the secrets and that he would meet us there. That was it. That solved our problems. All we had to do was go to sleep and be transported to the place we have been longing for. Then the wizard would come and make Ambrose better.
I went to the bed. “Ambrose, try to get to sleep. Remember what the wizard said. He said that all we have to do is go to sleep and we will be where the secrets are.”
Ambrose barely nodded. “Alright.” He croaked.
I wasn’t tired yet. I decided that I would walk around town a little and try to use up some of my energy while Ambrose went to sleep. The next time I entered the room he should already be transported to the new place and I could use the bed.
I told Ambrose my plan and he smiled to show he was on board. I then left the room and went back to the lobby. Ramonia sat with her head in her hand, looking out the door envious of the passersby.
“I want to see the town a bit, any suggestions?”
“Why don’t you go on the streetcar? It’s free this time of night for the workers to get home faster. One goes by every ten minutes or so.”
She looked about as unexcited about the streetcar as someone can get.
“I’ll do that. Thank you, Ramonia.”
She looked at me warily. “How do you know my name? I left my nametag at home.”
“I’ve seen you before.”
She looked even more disturbed now. I left before she could ask me any more questions. She probably thought I was some kind of creepy stalker.
The nightlife in Amna lifted my spirits slightly. I was tired of being alone and even more tired of strange characters being all around that the sight of regular people going about their business under the neon signs made me feel at ease. There were no wars or bombs going off. I didn’t have to worry about making a statement for Sun People. It was just me and all the people I didn’t know and didn’t have to worry about.
A streetcar was coming up behind me. I didn’t see a station or any place it would stop. I watched as someone ran up beside it and jumped on the back. I readied myself to do the same. It didn’t take much. I hopped on when it passed. There were no seats open so I stood near the back and watched the city go by.
The streetcar rumbled down the main road slower than I could have walked. The restaurants were all full of the dinner crowd. Every block had a few people pushing carts filled with food. Everyone appeared to be getting along. Large groups roamed the streets greeting everyone they could. The city’s small size and relative loneliness meant that everyone knew each other. Not many tourists came. My name was the only one on the list at the hotel.
We came to a stop and half the riders got off. We weren’t very far from the hotel so I stayed on. I found an empty seat in the front and took it. The streetcar started again. No one bothered to wait for it to go by. Everyone crossed or walked right in front of it. The conductor had to ring the bell every few seconds so people would get out of the way.
I sat back and enjoyed the rest of the trip. Some twenty minutes later we came to the edge of town. Everyone got off this time. I wanted to walk back to use up my energy and started for the