There was silence on the road, a heavy presence that made itself
known bu the lack of something so common, most would take it for
granted. The yellowish packed earth didn't set my mind at ease
either; long enough to fade in the horizon, wide enough to fit four
trucks side by side, and clearly worn down by many years of travelers
inscribing their passing upon its surface. Common sense would dictate
that such a road should have at least a few cars crossing it every
other hour, every 6 hours if it was a slow day, but after sitting
inside the lonely bus stop for over 8 hours, I had decided that
common sense was a lie.

I didn't have a
clue of where I was, and every attempt at recalling anything before
this place was met with a memory of red and the taste of iron,
followed by a deep emptiness that seemed to grow more and more
imposing with each attempt. When I awoke here, the twins suns were
barely peaking over the horizon, shyly touching the world with their
scarlet rays, the surrounding forest was dressed in its best ivory
and maroon dress, with touches of gold and orange that came from the
rare flowers and fruits. But as the twin stars lazily crossed the
sky, green and blue started to seep into the world, tinging even the
chrome columns of the small bus stop where I had been waiting. By
that time I was at my wits end, I had waited quietly the way I had
been taught to, sinking into quite desperation as time crawled by.

I had whistled a few
tunes that somehow pierced the thick fog of oblivion that clouded my
mind, the soft sounds easing my mind like a chat with old friends.
When my throat became parched and my lips were screaming their
protests, I took to exploring the road, the living walls of
vegetation flaking the path like a silent and elegant honor guard
protecting their king from the interference of the mundane. But no
matter how far down the road I went, how much I searched, I didn't
find even one animal, insect or building. Persons were beginning to
feel like the childish notions of a long forgotten dream, an
impossibility my mind conjured from the masquerade of shadows to keep
the loneliness from creeping in my soul.

Defeated and tired
from the long trek, I returned to the bus stop where it had all
begun, the twin suns were well on their way to retiring for the day
when I saw a lonely figure sitting on the bench, partially hidden in
the dim shadow the building gave her, she was almost 2 meters tall
siting, a long silver cloak covered her form, flowing with every move
of her arms as she fixed her black curly hair. But as I got closer,
it became clear that she was not like me, not by far. Her skin seemed
to be carved from jasper, red and orange highlighting the clear cuts
of her face, two wide holes served as a her nose, and were her eyes
should be, only two blotches of orange stood. A second pair of arms
came into view when only a couple of meter kept us apart, clutching
an old set of knitting needles, they moved with surprising agility
into complicated patterns with an ease I had never seen, at one time
it looked like a start, then it was a sun, a bear next, an owl, a
sand clock and even a man, but soon all disappeared in the big balls
of yarn that rested on her knees.

A deep joy lifted my
tired heart at the sight of another being, even one as queer as her.
I tried to greet her calmly, not wishing to startle her with the
shout of joy my soul wanted to give, but only a small choked sound
came from me. Shame weighted heavy on me, as a tiny voice inside of
me berated me for my unforgivable failure in social graces. The
second attempt was barely an improvement, with only a quiet greeting
in tradespeak leaving my mouth before self-doubt clamped my mouth
shut. The third time however, was the charm, as I awkwardly
approached her and muttered a quiet “Hello". Her hands came to a
stop, her face turned to me slowly, her “eyes" looking to me as a
haunting but excited melody filled the air. A few seconds passed,
neither of us making a movements, before I repeated my greeting, this
time followed by a slightly too stiff bow. A melodious laughter rang
through the forest, before the haunting sound came again, while her
hands joined near her chest to form two triangles. A small blue spark
formed in the center of both triangles, once, twice, three times,
shedding a warm and soothing light. The light then turned a pale
white, cold and curious, and a soft pink, understanding but firm. I
answered her question as best as I could, mixing words and gestures
to tell my unlikely story.

Soon, we had a
conversation going between the two of us. She had her green for
wonders and envy, her yellows of joy and sorrow, black for elegance
and peace, and her always present white of curiosity and truth, while
I had my songs, my words and some laughable attempts at acting she
seemed to enjoy. By her side, time flew by, and soon we were part
covered by the mantle of the night, the forest shining a soft baby
blue our only source of light. Stars shone brightly in the dark green
sky, performing their ancient dance. One such star, with a gold
marking its flight, slowly got closer and closer, changing forms as
it did so, from star to horse, from barge to eagle, and finally, it
became a bus as it landed softly in front of us. The gray doors
opened without a sound. A blue humanoid sat in the drivers seat, a
black suit hugged his body, and a dark green shirt hid his chest. He
gave us a tender smile as we got in, handing him the silver ticket
that appeared in our hands.