Vespa Lady

Like I didn't have enough problems... I had to dream. Vividly. Definitely inspired by FLCL... definitely inspired by my latest train of thought... definitely... amazing.

The sky overhead was a muted shade of grey and I was walking down an unfamiliar sidewalk. The street stretched on in either direction, the town was familiar but strange. Shops lined either side of the road, people and cars milled about. It wasn't a ghost town but it wasn't bustling with activity either. A crumpled up piece of newspaper tumbled by and I caught the word "attraction" in big bold font. It made me think of a carnival and how I wished I could go to more sideshows and carnivals and amusement parks. My thoughts were interrupted by the cutest sing-song voice ever.

"Hey dream-lady, how's it going?" The woman infront of me is thin but it suits her. She has two little pigtails poking out on either side of her head and goggles keeping her bangs a mess. She gives me a great big toothy grin when I finally look up and shake myself from my thoughts. I smile back. She reminds me way too much of tank girl. She throws me a helmet, snaps on her goggles and her own headgear and we jump onto a bright yellow vespa. We drive down the street to a coffee shop and take a seat by the window.

We talk about our current issues. She's torn about what to do with her long term relationship and I'm torn about what to do about my lack of a relationship. I think we covered every pro and con in the books without reaching a conclusion. A strange tabby cat jumps on our table and starts talking with us.

"Oh what a painful thing love is but is there any sweet without the sour? The proper thing to do is to land on your feet!"

That's all I remember of the conversation. Then the cat shrieks and tells us to take cover - a storm is brewing! He runs off to hide and we look outside. The clouds are swirling with vicious fans. She grabs my hand and tugs me outside to her vespa. I dig my heels into the ground.

And for some reason I shout this: "I have to find Martin!"

We hop on her vespa and she takes me to his workplace. Not the tattoo shop... a giant corporate building. By now the wind is so strong everything is leaning - buildings, streetlights, powerlines. She tells me to hurry and I run into the building. I ask the receptionist where Martin is and she tells me I have to go outside, cross the courtyard to the other building. She seems oblivious to the storm. There are no walls here, just huge windows, so she can't really miss it. When I look out, there's a tornado slowly descending from the sky. I run outside and it starts to hail. It stings my flesh and some leave little scratches. I run and run and the wind picks up, I trip and fall into the fountain in the center of this courtyard. It's freezing, I'm drenched, I get up and keep running despite my bleeding knee. I finally reach the second building and ask a passing stranger where I could find Martin. He tells me where to find the room and I'm off again. Down these long corridors with weird retro carpeting... then the windows shatter. The tornado's touched down in full force and it's snarling, howling, screaming. Thunder and lightning shatter the skies and it takes me a minute before I catch my bearings... and realize the shards of glass have embedded themselves in my flesh. Black roses bloom before my eyes and I feel myself falling. Someone catches me and carries me to a dark room. I hear the door slam.

There's a red light and my eyes slowly adjust. I sit up, my head reels and Martin sits down next to me. For some reason, I tense. My breath catches in my throat and I just stare into his eyes. My heart's fluttering. I feel like a rabbit caught in a snare. I feel utterly helpless and yet simultaneously completely unafraid.

Beyond that I won't go... only to say that I woke up absolutely devasted to be in bed alone.