Paranormal is Relative
Page 42
say?
Refrain
You're leaving just like that
I know you can't stay
Why did you do this to me?
What do you have to say?
You should have told the truth
And then I would have known
Then I would've had a choice
To reap the pain you have sown
Refrain
I trusted you with my heart
What you've done isn't fair
You've taken all I have to give
While leaving me in despair
And now you're gone
And I'm left all alone
To sink into sorrow
And reap the pain you have sown
Refrain x2
Track 12 - Like a Writing Desk
The Interview:
Bryan: The music for this song is really different from the last one. This is kind a weird synth-pop sort of tune.
Anna: Well, the last song was just so depressing we thought our listeners could use something to cheer them up.
Lenore: And as you've brought up, the overall tone of this album is darker than our first one.
Belle: We also like to experiment a little with our music.
Kelly: So you don't think listeners will find this kind of jarring after that soulful track?
Anna: Well, maybe, but we never promised anyone we wouldn't make some mistakes.
Bryan: If you could re-do the order of the songs, would you?
Lee: Maybe. You'll have to wait until we release some overpriced, over-hyped, unnecessary, greatest hits anniversary edition.
Kelly: [laughs] Alright, I see you're thinking ahead.
Lee: Sometimes we do, anyway.
Bryan: So, what was your inspiration? I mean, I'm asking because it's my job, not because I think you're going to answer.
Anna: Life gets weird.
Kelly: That's it?
Lenore: Should there be more?
Bryan: The title is a quote from Alice in Wonderland. Was that your inspiration?
Belle: Not exactly. This is a good example of a song we wrote before had the music.
Anna: Life on the road is weird and sometimes things are really crazy. Sometimes we feel like we just fell down a rabbit hole, you know?
Kelly: And the White Knight's talking backwards?
Lenore: I believe in our band, and our music, but even I am not going to compare our weird little song with anything from Jefferson Airplane’s “Surrealistic Pillow.”
Lee: We do have some sense of humility, you know. But if you want to compare our song to a great album like that, well, be our guest.
The Inside Story:
The band called Nevermore and the Ravens was scouting out a park that was to be the site of a festival the next day, which they were scheduled to play at. Although dressed identically on stage, they dressed very differently outside of those personae. Maryann wore an orange shirt and yellow skirt, Nora wore a fashionable blue summer dress, Leah wore a green t-shirt and denim shorts, and Isabella wore a white shirt, denim shorts, and a baseball hat.
“Everything seems normal,” Isabella said, watching the activity on the other side of the shady park.
“So how do you suppose Maryann will get into trouble this time?” Leah asked.
“Hey! I don't always get into trouble,” Maryann said petulantly.
“No, I suppose that's true,” Nora said. “No one always does anything. But you get into more trouble than the rest of us.”
“That's not true,” she said. Then she dropped right through the dirt into a hole that had been hidden by grass. She screamed all the way down to the bottom where she landed on a dirt floor with a thump and a bruise.
The other three were just staring at the hole in the ground.
“Okay, tell me no one is surprised that just happened just now,” Leah remarked.
The other two just sighed.
“Sooooo, did Maryann literally just fall down the rabbit hole?”
Isabella cast a spirit sight spell on the three of them. “It appears she fell down some kind of hole, but I don't think a rabbit made this.”
Maryann looked up and could see a tiny dot of light far above her. “Guys! Guuuuuuyyyys!” she yelled.
“Ssshh, I hear something,” Isabella said. “I think Maryann's shouting at us. Maaaryyyaaann! We'll be right down!”
Maryann barely heard the faint response. “Well, I hope they come to get me. But I probably shouldn't stay here in case they fall on me.” She pulled a flashlight out of her purse and saw she was in some kind of dirt tunnel with room to stand up, so she did so and moved away from the landing zone.
“I'll get the emergency kit,” Leah sighed, and walked to the van to grab the heavy duffel bag filled with broadly useful items.
“Is that door going to close?” Nora asked.
“I don't think so. Not right now. I am going to close it, though, if I get a chance.”
“How often to holes like this just open up?”
The blonde shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Okay, ladies, I have the kit. But I'm a bad adventurer because I don't have fifty feet of rope in this thing,” Leah said.
“Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about.” Nora said.
“Honestly, have you never rolled dice for anything except a board game? No? Any adventuring party needs a ten-foot pole and fifty feet of rope.”
The other two just looked blank.
“Forget it,” Leah sighed. “The point is I don't have any way to get us safely down that hole or back up again.”
“It sounded like Maryann landed fine,” Isabella said. “I think the only thing we can do is jump and hope we also land safely and hope we can find a different way out.”
“That sounds like a terrible plan,” Nora said. “Remember that hotel in New York? We only got out because something helped us.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Isabella snapped. “I'm not leaving Maryann down there alone, even if it means we're all trapped.”
“Damn it. Hey, Maryann, move it!” she yelled down the hole. “Is anyone claustrophobic?”
“I don't think so, but I guess we'll find out,” Leah replied.
“Alright, I guess I'll go first.” Nora held her cross necklace for just a moment, then sat down on the grass and slid into the hole. She fell for what seemed like a long time and then landed with a thump. “Ouch!” She peered into the darkness. “Maryann?”
“It's me. Better move if the others are coming down,” she said, helping Nora stand up.
After a pause, Leah slid down, and then Isabella. Leah put on her headlamp flashlight and they all looked around.
As far as they could see in either direction was a round tunnel made of dirt. There were no supports or tree roots. The only sounds they could hear were each other.
“Any idea where we are?” Nora asked Isabella and Maryann.
They shook their heads.
“So that means no one has idea how we get out?”
Everyone shook their heads. Maryann was about to say something when they were interrupted by a pigeon nearly flying into them, banging into the wall of the tunnel instead, and tumbling awkwardly to the ground.
“Oh no!” Maryann squealed and knelt down next to the dazed bird. “Is it going to be okay?”
“How are we supposed to know?” Nora replied acidly. “It's a pigeon. It's probably just fine.”
“Oh, and thank you for your concern,” the pigeon said in a Brooklyn accent.
Maryann stood up quickly and stepped back to the rest of the group.
The bird got to its feet. “What's with all the lights? Hard to see, you know.”
“We, um, fell down the hole,” Maryann said, pointing to the tiny light. “We're trying to find a way out.”
“You fly out, like I'm gonna do.”
“We, um, can't fly.”
The pigeon cocked its head at th
em. “Well, you're in trouble, ain't ya?”
“Do you know the way out?”
“That's it,” the bird said. “Only one I know.”
“But we can't fly.”
“Like I said, you're in trouble.”
“Are you sure there's no other way out?” Maryann asked.
“Could be. I never looked that much. Anyway, I got places to go. Good luck!” the pigeon said, and flew up and out of the hole.
“So, we just had a conversation with a pigeon,” Leah said. “Well, I always wanted to go on an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ style acid trip.”
“It's not about drugs, it's about math,” Nora sighed.
“What?”
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Charles Dodgson, or Lewis Carroll, was a professor of mathematics when this new abstract math started to become popular. He wrote the book to make fun of it.”
“Wait, so what was with all the cakes and drinks and growing?” Maryann asked.
“Proportions. Just a demonstration of the absurdity of the new math,” Nora said. “I think the whole tea party had something to do with irrational numbers. That book report was a long time ago.”
“You went to a better high school than I did,” Isabella sighed. “But we're getting side-tracked.”
“Wait, so what was Through the Looking Glass all about?” Maryann asked.
“Math and a chess game,” Nora answered.
“And another aspect of my childhood ruined by facts,” Leah sighed. “And math.”
“Ladies,” Isabella said sternly. “Whatever this place is, we need to get out. Let's pick a direction and hope there's another way out.”
“Okay, but it's just a matter of time before we fail our random encounter check,” she replied.
The other three looked at her.
“It means we're probably going to run into something dangerous,” Leah clarified. “In geek-speak.”
“Oh, well, that's a given,” Nora replied.
Isabella took the lead and they started walking down the tunnel.
“I know we don't know where