Kidnapping
“This car is quite heavy, isn't it?”
“Shut up.”
“Oh, come now. It's gonna be a long trip, isn't it? Might as well pass the time with something, even if it's banality.”
“You do realize I'm trying to kidnap you, aren't you?”
“You're trying? I thought you already had.”
“Did I now?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, would you look at that... Well, if that's the case, I guess we can talk a little. I'm feeling quite bored to be honest. I thought I still had to look though, but the job is already done, so screw it.”
“Well, that's great. By the way, where are we going?”
“Dunno.”
“Huh?”
“Dunno.”
“Really?”
“Yep, dunno.”
“Well, that's…”
“I mean, I'm only driving, really. I know the place, you see, I just need to feel it.”
“Feel it? You meant find it?”
“English is my first language, you know. I meant what I meant.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...how are you going to feel it, anyway? You are an esper or something.”
“Nah, it's not any of that occult shit. Don't insult me. Do I look like a hippie to you?”
“Hippies are the first thing that comes to mind when talking about the occult?”
“Oh, pipe down, will ya? I shouldn't have kidnaped a salaryman like you. Those repressed types, I'll tell you. Every one of them thinks this is some kind of enlightenment trip, you know, something that breaks the routine and culminates in a disastrous change, a new man. I mean, it's just a kidnapping, dude. Nothing romantic about it.
“I'm not really a salaryman, though. I'm a software engineer.”
“Same shit, isn't it? A girl like me knows these kinds of things, so don't try to deceive me, you hear? You are one of those cubicle freaks, aren't you?”
“Home office.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I work from home, you see.”
“Yes, I understood that. But it's the same thing as a cubicle, isn't it? It's prettier, more comfortable, but it's still a cubicle, you know. Four walls enclosing you from everyone, a tremendous loneliness…”
“You sound like you have experience with that kind of thing.”
“Oh, yes. I was an accountant once. One of those optimistic startups, you know, the ones whose employees are filled with optimistic happiness. The ones whose speeches make you want to puke.”
“What was its name?”
“Chrysalis Co.”
“Oh, I remember that one. That one got under because of a…”
“Hey, hey! I already know what happened, I was there. So shut up, will ya? I don't want to remember that cursed place…”
2AM, someday or other, Chrysalis Corp is burning like the olympic torch on a nice summer day. Flames fill the windows, like some kind of moving canvas pressed against it. Artificial, in a way, think the pedestrians. Must be some kind of prank.
But it wasn't. Chrysalis Corp really was burning. But, for some reason, the flames didn't look real enough.
“The flames were beautiful, I'll tell ya. Too beautiful, though.”
“Unrealistically beautiful, you could say.”
“Yes, you could say that.”
“The papers said that, at least.”
“Did they? It's been a while since I've read the papers? What about the article?”
“The one I read tried to abstract the fires with the burning stress which the employees were suffering from.”
“What a clumsy abstraction.”
“And quite embarrassing to read, too. But I've wrote my fair share of embarassing stories, so I guess I shouldn't judge.”
The highway is quite wide. A bit too wide, to be honest. You could have a column of ten cars in the same plane and still have space. Even the lampposts are strangely paced between the sidewalks. I wonder if you can even walk on these sidewalks, seeing how wide those posts are. They look like palm trees!
Wait, those are palm trees, aren't they?
That was embarrassing. Good thing I didn't blurt that out loud.
“You've been blurting that out loud for a while, you know?”
“Was I?”
“Yep. A loud mind gives way to loud reprimands.”
“That's some kind of proverb or something?”
“I just made that one up. What did you think?”
“It sucks.”
“Not as much as you. You sure have a knack for prose yourself, huh? That thing with the palm trees was quite ingenious. I wonder where you got that.”
“Heh. Screw you.”
“Back to you.”
“...”
“...”
“Where are we now?”
“I guess this must be Red Sea Mist.”
“Red Sea Mist? Really? That's the name?”
“Some kind of chinese anagram, I don't know. Look, don't ask me. But it does sound cool, doesn't it?”
“In a corny way, yes.”
“Both cool and corny start with a co.”
“That doesn't even have a meaning.”
“It's just some interesting trivia I came up with, don't be so judgemental. “
“I'm not being judgemental. That's not the word you're looking for.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I'm not.”
“Just admit it. You can even describe it in prose if you want to. I thought it was something else, but in the end, I was being judgemental, huh. That's quite embarrassing. I hope I didn't blurt that out loud.”
“Some kidnapper I've got saddled up with.”
“No saddles here. Take this as some kind of volunteer work, for the time being. You can leave anytime.”
“Can I?”
“Nope, not really. I'm just trying to present a good mindset to have.”
“Well, that's reassuring. Thank you.”
“Don't mention it.”