11. Flowers, the Gold Line, and Chrowall City
“Purple line?”
Isaac didn’t bother answering as he flopped down onto one of Lilith’s ridiculously ornate antique couches. Normally he thought the things were too garish, and he still thought that, but damn if they weren’t plush and comfortable.
Lilith hummed sympathetically. “Aw, don’t let 🗌🗌🗌🗌🗌🗌🗌🗌 scare you. She’s smart enough not to attack you while the system’s in place.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better. Also how the fuck did you just pronounce that.”
“I’m basically god, silly. What would I be if I couldn’t mouth some boxes?”
Isaac just shook his head, releasing a long sigh as he sunk lower into the cushions. He’d never thought much about couches before, but couches were really nice. Alas, the soft haven soon vanished as Lilith set two cups of tea down on the small round table a little ways away. He begrudgingly rose and took a seat across from her, muttering a “Thanks” as he stared into the tea.
For the most part, it looked like tea should. Dark color, opaque thanks to some added milk. The weird part was the golden swirls spiraling across the surface. This was a signature of Lilith’s, who seemed incapable of doing anything without making it loud and clear that it was, in fact, her work. Isaac took a sip. He couldn’t really describe the flavor, but it somehow tasted like the color gold.
“You’re heading back after this, right?”
Isaac looked up to see Lilith watching him inquisitively and nodded. “Yep. Got shit to do.”
She sighed dramatically. “What a tough life.”
Isaac raised an eyebrow, not commenting that she was 80% of the reason it was so tough.
His eyes drifted around the room. Lilith’s house was the only building in all of the Golden Lands, a sharp silhouette with winding, gothic style architecture that stuck out starkly against the rolling hills of flowers and glowing lights. The inside of the home looked like she’d attempted to pack as many antiques inside as she could. Nearly every inch of the wall was covered in oil paintings, abstract portraits, and mirrors that all warped reflections one way or another. Shelves lined the walls, filled with odd trinkets that sparkled and smoked strange colors.
The floor below them was made with some sort of dark wood, but it was hard to tell under the layers of ornate rugs, all different sizes and shapes, that matched the layers upon layers of curtains that looped across the ceiling and around the home. The result was a place that should by all accounts feel narrow and claustrophobic, but he’d gotten used to it enough over the years to feel rather comfortable sitting inside.
Lilith smiled pleasantly. “Any chance I could get one of your cakes?”
“I’m not baking you a cake for free.”
The woman pouted in response. “Aw, but didn’t I just give you this wonderful cup of tea free of charge?”
Isaac snorted. “You can magic stuff into existence, I can’t.”
“Well, it was worth a shot.”
Isaac finished the last of the tea, still not able to place the taste any better than before. He set the cup down onto the table with a light clink. He rose to leave before pausing. He glanced back, brows furrowed. “Could I pick some flowers before I head out?”
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Lilith watched him knowingly. “Here.” She waved a hand. For a moment, the air seemed to tremble with anticipation, then in a flash of light, a bouquet of flowers appeared. It floated in the air for a few seconds before Lilith gently grasped them and held them out to Isaac. “No need to go plucking any,” she said cheerily. “These should suffice!”
Isaac inspected the array of flowers. Purple hyacinths made up a significant chunk of the bouquet, though a few dark crimson roses added some warmth to the overall look. A few white chrysanthemums balanced out the darker colors, and some sprigs of rosemary helped keep the overall arrangement from being too overwhelming. It was well done, Isaac thought, and far more beautiful than he could ever put together himself.
“Thank you,” he said sincerely, carefully taking the bouquet in hand. They were a bit warm from lingering magic, and all the blossoms were perfectly bloomed, not a trace of wilting or discoloration in sight. Then again, he didn’t think any of the flowers in the Golden Lands ever wilted. They all remained the same, caught frozen in time.
Lilith waved dismissively. “Not a bother at all.” She grinned. “Have fun on the trip back.”
Isaac pursed his lips, a small smile on his face. “I’ll try.”
—
The train was completely empty, but that was to be expected. Isaac had never seen another person ride on the gold line—he assumed it was a respect thing, since Lilith was effectively the god of the Underside and randomly entering her realm was probably not the best idea.
He held the flowers in his hands during the trip, not wanting to set them down for fear of squashing them. On his lap, the tablet’s screen was black, not a trace of glowing magic left. When Lilith had first given Isaac this job, they’d had a long discussion about what form to give the system. Originally Lilith had made a watch that projected information into the air, which was admittedly very cool and let Isaac live out his childhood sci-fi dreams. Unfortunately it stuck out way too much, so they’d settled on making it look like a tablet. That way, he could still access the system files in Chrowall City without a giant light bulb over his head screaming “Hey this thing isn’t from Earth!”
Behind the windows of the train car, the walls of the tunnel whizzed past. Within the next few minutes, the car passed by a station from the surface world, slipping seamlessly into Chrowall City from the Underside. There was never any indication that he’d passed through dimensions beyond seeing a familiar landmark. At first it was disconcerting to him, to not have a clear sense of what realm he was in, but he’d grown used to it over the years.
Isaac rode the train up to 104th street, the train car having become much more crowded by then. He hopped off, eager to get away from the crowds, and exited the station.
The route he took was a familiar one, and he turned at street corners more out of habit than deliberate memory. He maintained a brisk pace over the concrete sidewalks. It was a cloudy day, and the sky was a dreary grey color that blended into the buildings. Soon the North Chrowall City cemetery came into view, surrounded on all sides by tall concrete apartments.
The worn metal gates were open, and he stepped through, navigating around the tightly packed gravestones until he reached the very back, where a small, unassuming headstone stood between two far more lavish ones. Isaac gently set the flowers down, taking a moment to arrange them and ensure they were perfect before he straightened. The bouquet was large enough to nearly hide the headstone entirely.
He stared at the grave, opening and closing his mouth again with aborted conversations. Finally, just like every time he’d come here for the past four years, he turned and left without saying a word.
Evening had fallen when he finally slammed the door open and stepped back into his tiny apartment. His window faced the interior of the building, so none of the sunlight made it to him. Instead, he flicked on the lights and set the tablet down on the worn wooden table with a sigh.
His apartment was sparsely decorated. There were no photos or paintings on the walls, and he only kept the bare minimum amount of necessary furniture. The only real spot of color were the cakes lined up along the narrow counter, all covered in plastic wrap and waiting to be decorated.
Isaac glanced up at the dusty clock lying in the corner of the counter. 7:02pm, it read. He estimated that a total of about ten minutes had passed in Chrowall while he was in the Underside. Isaac yawned and rubbed the weariness from eyes.
Sighing, he rolled up his sleeves and headed towards the counter. Time to get to work.