No Sleep Ending

Trish had returned from visiting a friend and I could tell she looked much better. She had regained some Color, her mood had gotten better and she didn't appear scared at all. I chose not to tell her about my baptism story or the bike trail incident since I didn't want her to worry over thing she couldn't influence.

I told her that my days went by uneventfully and that the whole horror was mostly over. I didn't know if she could tell I was lying or not, but she accepted my words with a warm smile. We had a joyful day together for the first time in two months since the Rose events restarted. You would expect my next sentenced to start with 'but' wouldn't you? Well there wasn't a 'but'. As a matter of fact the next day was even better than the previous one. I got a call from a company I applied to work for and they told me I had gotten the job. My first real-world grown-up job.

The only thing better than getting a job was getting a good job far away from Provincetown. The company was offering me a position in Atlanta Georgia more than 1,000 miles away from all this horror. I probably broke some sort of record for accepting a job offer; I didn't even let the recruiter finish the presentation. I took the job and I told him I was coming in two days. For the first time in weeks Trish and I were happy. Not only was I about to start a professional career, until this damn book gets made into a Hollywood blockbuster, but Trish and I were also getting the hell outta Massachusetts where Rose and the man seemed to do dwell. While we were backing out bags, we discussed all the great things about our upcoming stress-free life nowhere in our plans did we mention it Demonic orange carrying woman in a white dress.

We rented a car filled with all our belongings and went down to the sweet south where we would only find oranges in grocery stores. The actual trip while long was a helluva lot of fun. We’d eat at different restaurants, sleep in cool hotels you know good old road trip kind of thing.

When we finally arrived in Atlanta we're exhausted but excited at the prospect of a new life. Trish's brother and his family live in that city so we stayed with them until we were able to find a fitting apartment. We managed to find an amazing one bedroom flat that had everything we needed. Watching Trish sign the lease made me giggle like a little kid. She seemed so happy that if a stranger would have looked at her they would have never guessed she went through hell so recently.

Then came the time to move in. We only had about six suitcases worth stuff so we decided that I would carry them upstairs while Trish went shopping for basic supplies and groceries. The suitcases are in the building's lobby, and our apartment was on the first floor. I brought in the first two bags and left the door open so I didn't have to unlock it again. During the second trip up the stairs on of my bags opened and a few of my things fell out. Tired and frustrated I cursed and gathered all my stuff and dragged the suitcases into the apartment. One more trip and I'd be done. I brought the last two bags into the living
Room took off my shoes and grabbed a can a coke. After the first sip I dropped it. In the middle about naked unfurnished floor sat an orange. Time froze around me and the only two things that made into my brain was the foaming noise of spilled soda and a fucking orange in the center of my room. You know how when you're in a plane that's taking off your ears get clogged and you have to move your jaw to fix them?  That’s what happened. It seems like everything around me blew down and my whole focus was on that god damn piece of fruit. Than the spilled coke made it to my feet and threw me back into the reality.

Rose.

I turned around him right there at the entrance of the apartment stood rose and the man in the black suit. If I were better at artistic descriptions I'd be able to portray the whole scene better. I was standing in my socks that were now soaked with soda behind me on the floor was an orange and in front of me, the two people who stalked Trish, my grandmother, and me for our whole lives. They look happy and confident; Rose wore the same white dress and here skin was as pale as ever. Her head was tilted to the left and her arms were just dangling at her sides. There was just one thing different about her though, she didn't have any lipstick on although her grin was still there. I suppose that if you saw her on the street and you had no prior knowledge of her you would think nothing of her. Behind rose was the man in the black suit. The same man from the bike trail. He looked old and strict. His pupils contracted to near pinpoints, but his eyes still gave the impression of death. On its head was an old school top hat and in his right hand he held a long cane. The wave of feelings that came to me was overwhelming. The first emotion was of course FEAR. My initial thought was to run, but to where? They were standing at the only entrance. My follow-up thought was to fight, but why? What would that accomplish? Could I even win?

Then came the peace. The unexpected peace. I wonder what I should have realized a long time ago. There was no escape. No matter how many times a change towns, cities, country, or even continents, they would always find me. No matter how long I had rejected the orange would always be there for me to take it. I had a choice of being followed for the rest of my life or accepting that damn orange and seeing what happened. With no energy left to resist I muttered “if I take it will you tell me why?” Rose smiled even wider than before. She looked over her shoulder to the man who nodded slightly in approval. She looked back at me, and then had the orange behind me. “Alright” I said. Defeated, I walked over to that fucking fruit lying on the floor. I got down on one knee and took a second to study the piece of fruit. It looked just like a regular orange except that it was a bit rotten. This was it. I inhaled deeply, closed my eyes, and took the orange. I don't know what I expected really. I guess me, and probably you, expected some sort of immediate reaction from the universe. I thought about this moment many times before it actually happened and taking the orange was never so uneventful in my head. It was unusually quiet. When I finally opened my eyes I realize that I was just holding a piece of rotten fruit. Nothing more and nothing less.

I turned around to look at Rose and the man. Her head wasn't tilted anymore, and the man had taken his hat off. They look normal. “Come in” I said, lowering myself into a seated position on the floor.