A Town Called Discovery

by R. R. Haywood

  ‘I don’t know, Zara. I just run the diner.’

  The next stop is the town clerk which is just a short walk from the hospital, albeit at a pace slightly brisker than before but then Zara does walk with her arms folded demanding to know who is in charge and why she was called grumps, and that she’s not grumpy and will probably have a very good sense of humour when she remembers it.

  ‘Town clerk,’ Allie says, pushing through the door which chimes melodically from the old-fashioned bell fitted to the top and once again Bear feels like he’s stepping into a museum or a film-set.

  A high fronted wooden counter fitted with ornate curved bars on the top to one side and a grand wooden desk on the other with ledgers and books piled up and the man in the light-coloured suit he saw earlier glancing up as they walk in.

  ‘This is Norman the clerk,’ Allie says. ‘Norman, new arrivals. Zara, James, Thomas and Bear.’

  ‘Bear?’ Norman asks, blinking over the top of his spectacles.

  ‘Roshi’s.’

  ‘Oh,’ Norman says with evident distaste. ‘We do not like strange names here, Mr Bear.’

  ‘Er…’ Bear says.

  ‘Are you in charge?’ Zara asks, detecting the air of authority about the man.

  ‘I am in charge of some things, yes. The smooth fiscal running of the town being one of them.’

  ‘That doctor was awful. Who do I complain to?’

  ‘Doctor Lucy?’ he enquires. ‘Not me,’ he adds abruptly. ‘I have enough to do without taking on matters of medical negligence,’ he closes the ledger he was writing in and tucks it into the pile before selecting another one as the bell chimes behind them.

  ‘Hey, Allie.’

  ‘Hey, Terry,’ Allie says. ‘That’s Terry, he works in the planning offices,’ she walks over to chat quietly, leaving the four alone with Norman.

  ‘First one,’ the clerk asks, peering over his glasses to Thomas. ‘Name, gender, age and mentor…’

  ‘I’m er…I’m Thomas, the doc said I was thirty to forty and er…Jacob was my mentor.’

  ‘Gender?’

  ‘Man?’ Thomas asks, flapping his hands at the others.

  Norman repeats his words to himself while scratching a pen over the paper in his ledger. ‘Sign here,’ he says, turning the ledger to look expectantly at Thomas.

  ‘What for?’ Thomas asks, his eyes back to wide and shocked again.

  ‘First wages. Just put the letter T there…’

  ‘I can spell Thomas,’ Thomas says.

  ‘Good for you but I don’t have all day to wait while you practise your new signature so just put T. Next?’

  Zara takes her turn, making a show of reading the ledger before signing and stepping back.

  ‘What does it say?’ Bear asks as James’s takes his turn.

  ‘Shorthand. Couldn’t read it,’ Zara admits.

  ‘Name, gender, age and mentor?’ Norman asks, looking at Bear.

  ‘Bear. Male. Twenty-five to thirty-five. Mentor was Roshi.’

  ‘Roshi,’ once again that look of distaste crosses Norman’s face as he curls his tongue round the name. ‘Sign B here.’

  ‘What does it say?’ Bear asks, seeing the lines of squiggle on the page.

  ‘It is a contract fulfilling the town’s obligation to your financial needs. You will receive a weekly payment to be collected from this bank weekdays between the hours of 9am and 12 noon and then from 1pm and 5pm. If you are unable to collect your money, you can sign for a trusted person to collect for you, or alternatively, you can request a deviation of payment from this office after filing form DP1. Would you like to see the full contract?’

  ‘No, it’s fine,’ Bear says, using a pen for the first time since he can remember but finding his hand knows how to hold the tool and make the shapes required.

  ‘I would,’ Zara says. ‘I’d like to see the full contract.’

  ‘One will be made available to you,’ Norman says without any sign of being irritated by the request as he tears four slips from a duplicated perforated sheet under the page. ‘Take these to the bank for your first payments.’

  He hands them over in that curt, business-like manner then goes back to his desk, puts the ledger away and takes another one out. ‘Anything else?’ he asks, looking over his glasses when they don’t move.

  ‘The bank?’ Zara asks.

  ‘You are in the bank,’ Norman says slowly, pointing his pen to the counter behind them.

  Bear, Zara and Thomas look to each other, unsure and lost while James smiles at Norman.

  ‘This way,’ Allie calls out, ‘go to the counter and see Mavis.’

  The four duly file through the small swing door on the half partition wall and cross to the counter together, coming to a stop in front of a woman with greying hair in a woollen cardigan blowing her nose. ‘Help you?’ she asks somewhat nasally after shoving the tissue up her woolly sleeve.

  ‘That man sent us over,’ Bear says.

  Mavis leans forward, following his outstretched hand to Norman working at his desk. ‘Queue up, please.’

  The four turn to see a red roped section with one end marked queue here. ‘You go first?’ Bear asks Zara.

  The other three walk round the red rope to stand in a line while Zara hands her chit over that Mavis inspects and stamps before handing over a number of banknotes that Zara stares at.

  ‘Bank of Discovery,’ she tells the others, walking over to show them the money.

  ‘Excuse me! You have not signed for that money young lady.’

  ‘Sorry,’ she rushes back to sign another slip.

  ‘Next?’ Mavis calls out.

  They take their turns, waiting quietly while Jen and Allie chat in whispers and chuckle at private jokes in a way that makes them feel even more forlorn and lost in an alien world, apart from James who remains as nonplussed as before.

  ‘Done?’ Allie asks with all four clutching banknotes in their hands. ‘Great…let’s keep going...’

  Clothes from Discovery apparel. Discovery fashions. Discovery for men and the day wears on with a blur of strange folk greeting them either happily or showing complete disinterest and to the last they tut, huff and roll eyes at Bear’s name and even more so on hearing Roshi was his mentor.

  ‘What’s wrong with Roshi?’ Bear asks as they traipse back down Main Street loaded with bags.

  ‘What’s right with Roshi,’ Allie replies under her breath but says no more, unwilling to be drawn into further conversation.

  Zara bombards Allie with questions, clearly sceptical but getting the same increasingly tired and jaded response. I just run the diner and do meet and greet. Thomas stays wide-eyed and shocked and of all of them, only James seems outwardly calm in a staring-round-in-wonder kind of way.

  Finally, they walk from the centre down the long intersection road leading out of town and the stores lining the street give way to houses. Terraced at first, then with spaces between that grow bigger and further set back with manicured lawns and small white picket fences. Still American. Still tranquil and still jarring.

  ‘What’s outside the town?’ Bear asks.

  ‘Parks, cemetery, swimming pool, golf course and forests,’ Allie replies. ‘Miles and miles of pine forests.’

  ‘Can we leave the town?’ Zara asks.

  ‘Sure, but just not yet,’ Allie says. ‘It’s very easy to get lost…wait until you’ve settled in for a while first. Up there,’ she motions to a junction stretching off uphill. Gardens on both sides behind high wooden fences and grand houses glimpsed beyond but the road goes up, twisting and bending with small thickets of trees taking over when the fence line ends.

  ‘You seeing that?’ Thomas asks from behind them after a few solid minutes of steady ascent.

  The others stop to look through the gap in the trees to the town spread out beneath them.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ Zara says, wiping a film of sweat from her head.

  The town isn’t big at all and rests in a vast clea
ring entirely enclosed by towering trees forming the pine forest. The four roads running north to south and east to west so clear and the vehicles moving slowly on them look like toy cars with stick figure people glimpsed on the sidewalks and crossing the intersection. The roofs of the buildings look normal too with chimney’s here and there and telephone wires running from one to the other and across the road.

  ‘Nice views from up here,’ Allie says, slightly breathless. James exhales noisily, resting his hands on his knees and sweating heavily.

  ‘How are you so fit?’ Zara asks. Bear looks round then realises the question is aimed at him.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he says honestly.

  ‘Just a bit further,’ Allie says, her gaze also resting on Bear. ‘Round that bend.’

  The bend is long and sweeping, opening out to a view of individual single-story white-walled buildings with terracotta tiled roofs dotted on a hillside in a tiered fashion with paths and walkways running hither and thither.

  ‘That doesn’t get easier,’ Allie says, sucking air in from the walk-up. ‘Okay, so…if you have a family and work to a decent position, you’ll maybe one day get a house down there,’ she waves behind her at the town. ‘Everyone else lives up here…singles, couples…there’s a footpath running at the back down to the town. Comes out at the end of Main Street and thankfully is nowhere near as steep as this…but,’ she takes another breath and smiles, ‘but you needed to see the road up too.’

  ‘Could’ve just told us,’ Zara groans, her bags hanging heavy at her sides. ‘Or…we could have walked the footpath then gone down this one…’

  ‘Quit moaning, grumps,’ Allie says.

  ‘What did you say?’ Zara snaps as Allie grins and holds her hands up.

  ‘Joke,’ she says. ‘I’ll show you your digs.’

  ‘Digs?’ Thomas asks.

  ‘House,’ Allie says. ‘Accommodation…residence.’

  They enter the paved walkways bordered by stone walls varying in height from low to taller than James. People here too that nod and call out, friendly and seemingly at ease in their surroundings.

  Colours start to show from deckchairs, tables and seats with striped cushions arranged on small verandas outside each habitat. Curtains hanging from open windows and music heard playing inside the small houses. Flowers drape and hang down the walls with ferns and bushes creating more paths and narrow avenues.

  ‘You’ve got to stay inside your houses during the hours of darkness until your trainers say otherwise…don’t ask, Zara, I just run the diner. James, this is yours…all of you go in as they’re all the same really. Front door into a lounge area, sofa, armchair…bedroom through there, single bed, table, wardrobe and drawers. Bathroom, toilet and shower only. Only the bigger houses get bathtubs…kitchen is through there. Basic but enough. You’ve got food to last a few days, after that, you have to buy your own.’

  Basic and simple with the small rooms made crowded by five of them looking round. Everything in shades of beige, cream, white and greys in a symmetry flows to create a snug, yet clean and comforting ambience.

  ‘That’s it,’ Allie says, holding her hand out to James. ‘Stay in tonight, rest, eat, relax…you’ll be collected tomorrow. Stop by and see me in the diner in a few days.’

  They move on, walking a few minutes until they stop for Thomas to stare wide-eyed and shocked at his new home and a new look of terror crosses his face at the prospect of being alone. ‘You’ll be fine,’ Allie says, rubbing his shoulder. ‘Go on, get some sleep.’

  Another short distance and Allie stops to open a door for Zara, ‘all yours.’

  ‘What happens if I do go out?’

  ‘You’ll be in trouble,’ Allie replies. ‘Someone will report you to the sheriff who will request you go home and failing that, you’ll be locked in a cell then fined and punished.’

  ‘Why?’ Zara demands.

  ‘In you go, Zara,’ Allie says, motioning for her to go on.

  ‘But…’

  ‘Love,’ Allie snaps. ‘Everyone here has done the same thing. Just go with it. Relax, sleep…you’ll find out more tomorrow.’

  ‘This is bloody awful,’ Zara seethes, storming into the house. ‘What am I supposed to do all night?’

  ‘I don’t know! Hang your new clothes up. Have a shower…’

  Zara flinches, clearly not expecting such a sensible reply. ‘I’m reporting that doctor…’

  ‘Goodnight, Zara, come and see me in a few days,’ Allie says, closing the door.

  ‘This way,’ she goes ahead of Bear, leading him through another series of walkways between houses of near-identical structures.

  ‘I’ll forget this route,’ he says.

  ‘Takes a couple of days,’ Allie replies. ‘That’s yours.’

  He looks ahead to a building set next to the treeline marking the edge of the estate. The same as the others with a small veranda outside the front door.

  ‘Allie,’ he says as she pushes the door open.

  ‘I know what you’re going to ask but it’s not for me to say.’

  ‘What?’ he asks, pausing before crossing the threshold as though that will prevent her walking off and ending the conversation.

  ‘Roshi,’ Allie says simply. ‘Go on, get some rest…’

  ‘Everyone seems to hate her.’

  ‘Bear, it’s been a long day.’

  ‘And the others don’t know about the time travel thing either…’

  ‘Bloody Roshi,’ Allie groans then holds a hand up, silencing him as he goes to continue. ‘I’m not getting involved. I run the diner…did you know the meet and greet is part of the diner job? I have to do it. I don’t even like doing it. I hate it. I actually hate it…oh, now I feel bad saying that. I don’t hate it…it’s just hard not to…you know…tell you more. Having said that Roshi’s already told you everything by the looks of it. Get some rest. Stay inside. Come and see me…whatever…you heard it. Goodnight, Bear.’

  ‘Night, Allie,’ she walks off leaving him alone on the veranda outside his new home as the sun dips below the treeline bringing forth a twilight on a hillside of strange houses in a strange town in a made-up world.

  10

  It’s the same as James’s house. Small rooms finished in subtly blending shades. A two-seat leather sofa in the lounge with a tiny side table and two wooden chairs against the wall and as he stares round so the shadows grow deeper outside and the standing lamp in the corner of the room blinks on, bathing the room in a soft yellow glow.

  The bed is low and wooden framed, but the sheets are rich cotton and feel starched and new. A single pillow, neither plump nor flat. He dumps the bags and opens the wardrobe to see a full-length mirror on the inside of the door and steps back with a jolt that makes his heart thud.

  Him. Self. His own reflection. He blinks at the weirdness of it, not recognising himself in any capacity. There is no familiarity. Nothing. Dark brown eyes and short dark blond hair. A slight stubble shows on his cheeks and jaw. No scars, no marks. Lines round his eyes and on his forehead that he crinkles and smooths a few times. Laughter lines when he smiles and a thicker one that forms at the top of his nose when he scowls. Even teeth but his nose is a bit too big and his eyes a little too deep.

  ‘What the fuck…’ he flinches again at the sight of himself talking, feeling more jarred than ever and the surrealness of it all makes him feel weird, like homesick but for a thing or a place, he will never know. He’s quite tall by the looks of it and slim too, not bulky like James and minutes are lost as he looks in his mouth and turns this way and that like a child gaining awareness of self for the first time.

  That thought resonates. Awareness of self. It’s like there is a connection there but he knows his mind is clutching to seek reason and find sense where maybe there is none. This is what it is.

  ‘Bear,’ he says his name, the name given to him by Roshi. It feels strange in his mouth. ‘Bear.’ The sound of it, the feel of it. She called him brave little bear and a
hundred other things that sounded so natural when she said them. ‘Roshi,’ he says to the man in the mirror. Everyone else he’s met here has entirely normal names. Maybe it’s a thing for Roshi to give fucked up names to the ones she mentors. He wonders if she lives up here on the hill and where she is right now, then he wonders why everyone tutted, scowled, swore and looked like they’d accidentally tasted their own shit when they heard her name.

  He goes back into the lounge and spots the phone on a shelf. An old-fashioned thing with a cord between the handset and the base which rests on top of a thick hardbacked pad marked Discovery Directory. He snatches it up, flicking it open to see the names of the stores in alphabetical order and names of other places. Planning, recreation, sheriff’s office. Further on he reaches the personal listings that he was hoping to see. First names only. No surnames. He finds Allie and looks across to a seven-digit number then flicks quickly through to R and looks down. Roshi. His heart skips a beat and he looks to the number to see the word removed printed in its place.

  A tut and he goes to put the pad back then stops and works through to the last few pages. Zara. She’s in it already. He doesn’t hesitate but punches the numbers into the base unit and hears a click followed by a ring at the other end that goes on for several seconds.

  ‘Hello?’ she sounds alarmed and worried.

  ‘Zara, it’s Bear…’

  ‘Bear!? Are you okay? I didn’t know we had phones.’

  ‘Yeah, I just found it. How’s your er…’

  ‘House? It’s awful. How’s yours?’

  ‘Same, I guess.’

  ‘Did Allie say anything after you left me?’

  ‘Not really. She seemed tired, she said she hated doing meet and greets. Have you eaten anything?’

  ‘You mean Discovery ham and Discovery cheese on Discovery bread with some Discovery coffee?’

  He chuckles into the handset, ‘yeah, it is a bit much.’

  ‘A bit much? I’m surprised the pillows haven’t got Discovery embroidered on them…’

  He falters for what to say, his mind running too fast to process actual thoughts, ‘Er…I just wanted to see if you were okay.’