Howl Your Appellations

Abalone Cityscape

BOEN OPEOR

Passing the overpass felt like going through a portal. I pretty sure Sana and Beige felt the shift. They look as if they’re about to throw up or pry open the car door and run back to the forest. Sana closes up the window.

“Uh, Boen. This thing has AC, right? Can you turn it on?” Sana says, covering her nose and mouth with her hand. Beige looks as if he’s trying to hold puke in.

“My god dudes. Is it that bad? I turned on the AC for you guys.” I crank the AC up a bit. Looking at the poor souls try so hard to act normal makes me feel a guilt, something fierce.

“Is that better? I shouldn’t have asked you guys to come along. Maybe it was a better idea to ask Isa and Dan. I guess I was being really selfish this time.” I mope.

“Well, yes and no. We also kind of overestimated ourselves. We’ve been to the city before but it wasn’t as dense as this in our time. Now it’s so thick with metal and wires.” Sana says.

I don’t know when exactly they last visited but thinking about it too deeply might make me go to the topic of their ages, and I don’t want to think about that right now. Since now I know that their bodies are repulsed by the city, I’ll have to waste no time buying my phone and looking for supplies.

I hear them put a handful of cologne on their body. The sound of the liquid inside of the bottle is somewhat annoying, but I let them be.

There are more cars now so I have to be extra careful not to let my emotions sway me. It hardly ever does when I drive but I haven’t touched the wheel in a while. I watch a few cars pass us as we proceed closer to the city.

“Oh! Would you guys like to listen to the radio? I completely forgot that I had this thing! You guys wanna hear what’s on?” I enthusiastically ask, to lighten up the mood.

“Eh? I mean, sure. But…” Sana pauses.

“But?” I repeat.

“But I think we’d like it more if you just keep talking to us. We’re not in the mood to listen to human strangers through a speaker right now. Just talk about anything~~!” Lissana says. Her words make my ears blush.

“Um, well, if you say so, Sana!” I beam, “Now, I know you guys hate the smell of the city, and us humans but---”

“Oh! Boen haven’t you noticed?” Sana interrupts. “Sorry, you were talking. Continue.”

“What were you about to say?” I smile. I look at her through the front mirror.

“You smell really nice now.” She replies, “We couldn’t stand you when you started running around the forest, but now you smell really nice. Maybe it’s a gift from the Queen. You smell neither Were nor human. Ain’t I right, Beige?”

Beige nods.

“Right! Just like he says! You smell like something new! Like sweet light~!” She exclaims, failing miserably to notice that my hands are becoming sweaty from the revelation. The good kind of sweaty.

“Really? That makes me super happy! I don’t stink to you guys anymore!” I jab.

“I normally takes a human a few years in the forest to stop smelling like they do. Although the smell isn’t as strong in the forest. The forest sort of help us with that.”

“What do we smell like anyway? Is it that bad?” I ask.

We’re passing taller and taller buildings and shops. The roads are busier. I set the GSP to the closest Gilia Max Store. I only but Gilia Max brand phones.

“Well, the smell per se isn’t enough for us to retaliate. Y’all kinda smell like wet rust to us. It’s not a pleasant smell but it isn’t the worst kind. What bothers us is the mental anguish the smell reminds us of. It’s different for everyone so it’s really just best for us Creations of Luna to stay away from densely populated human cities.” Sana explains perfectly.

I didn’t think about it that way. There’re still so many things I don’t know about the Weres, and even about Sana and Beige.

“Whoa. Now I’m seriously feel bad about dragging you guys along. But don’t worry. If there’s anything you want to buy from the city, don’t hesitate to ask me. I’ve got all the money I can spare.” I tell them.

Buying them things is the least I can do for them. I just hope they find something they fancy here.

“Oh! As I was saying earlier! The city may stink but it definitely has everything I need to survive! Like cafes, food, books, furniture~! Clothes, sewing supplies~! Did I mention food already?” I can’t contain my excitement. I’m overcome with materialistic means.

“HAHAHAHA! For real? Then this trip might not be that bad after all!” Sana peers outside the window to see dozen of cars and buildings as tall as the trees in the Inner forest.

The city lights shine a bright green,blue and orange. The lights jump of the buildings’ glass windows and it creates a beautiful bokeh effect. The buildings, like patchwork, only allow bits and pieces of the sky. It’s only late in the afternoon but the sky’s already dark from the large Cirro-form clouds.

The two Weres are mesmerized for a moment. This is probably the first time they’ve encountered something like this in a long time. I’m honestly a bit stunned too, but only because of the shops I’m so tempted to buy from, but can’t as of the moment.

The GSP asks me to turn right on the next intersection and I’ll reach the phone shop. I’m not sure if I need to bring them along or if I just leave them here. I should ask just to make sure.

“Hey, so we’re almost at the Gilia Max store. Would you guys like to come with? It’s not something I need for the cabin, I just need another phone. It’ll only take 20 minutes tops.” I tell them, turning left at the intersection.

“Hmm, what do you think Beige?” Sana asks Beige and they discuss things.

I look for parking space and there’s a couple new the store entrance. I park my car next to a small family van. They’re probably about to buy their kids new phones.

“So?” I inquire. The car’s now parked and turned off. I lean back and face them.

They do not make eye contact, they’re both staring sadly on my dusty car floor.

They don’t want to leave unless they have to, huh? Understandable.

“Don’t worry! I’ll only take a few minutes, then we’ll go to the hardware store and buy the supplies and leave ASAP.” I reassure them.

They both nod, “Wait.” Sana says, stopping me from opening the door.

“Hm?”

“Uh, never mind. I think I need to conserve my energy for when we need it.” She sighs.

She feels bad that she can’t accompany me. I feel bad that I can’t bring her along.

“Yeah! We’ll have so much fun at the hardware store! I can’t do it without you guys.” I open the door and I can feel the two of them wince.

I rush inside the store so I don’t leave the two stranded Weres inside the car. I feel like I left two adorable puppies with no food or water to fend for themselves in a closed space.

I browse through the displays and settled with the Gilia Max PRO 13. It’s not the latest model but it’s enough for my needs. I was given a free phone case, sturdy earbuds, and two phone straps. One was the waves and the other, the moon. It’s almost suspicious to be a coincidence. But it’s a seaside city, so of course, they’re going to capitalize on their natural wonders.

The sales guy took a while to explain the new features of the phone. It’s only two versions higher than my old phone, I doubt that there’s gonna be any significant updates. He tells me about the upgraded storage, camera, and GUI.

I personally like how the icons can now be animated and the phone can be charged up to 50% with sunlight. They’ve really stepped their game up with these newer models. Solar-powered phones are definitely going to be very useful for me. I wouldn’t have to worry about low battery when I’m in the forest.

“We also have a collapsible mini version of this model~! It’s intended for hiking and camping. It can receive calls and texts, and also have a small storage for pictures! ” The sales person explains with enthusiasm. I almost feel really bad for the fella, he’s just trying to reach his quota.

“Alright. I’ll buy one of the minis too.” I tell him. It would be nice if the October Pack had a way of contacting me. They can just leave the mini in the laundry room. Although I’m afraid they might forget about it after a while…I’ll worry about it when we get there.

I leave the store feeling refreshed. I just need to finish transferring the files and apps from my cloud and I’ll feel like my old self again. I haven’t felt whole since, well, since that incident in the cabin, but this is a different kind of wholeness. My phone was like a companion, it made being alone feel less apparent.

Next to the store is the bake shop. The bread smells extremely exquisite and I can see their advertisement for crepes. I can’t not buy from them. Sana and Beige deserve city food too. I bet they’ll like it.

The bakeshop is a cozy little shop called ‘Momma Bear’s Bakery’ with a cute little mama bear stir a bowl of what seems to be dough. I find that they’re selling assorted bread, just like how they sell assorted donuts, so I buy two boxes of assorted donuts for us to eat and for the rest of the pack when we get home. I also bought us crepes and small cream smoothies.

I’m carrying a lot of bags at this point. I should have brought a tote bag but everything I owned was either ruined or was pulverized. I can see Sana looking at me from the car window. She’s peeved, probably because she can’t help me, or that I took longer than I promised.

I carefully open the door to the driver’s seat and began to place all the bags on the seat next to mine. I close the door and I before Sana and Beige (through Sana) can say anything. I offer them the crepes.

“These are crepes and they’re delicious! We also have assorted city bread and some smoothies if you’d like!” I shove the food unto their hands.

“Try them! We can’t lift things on an empty stomach!” I insist.

They don’t look like they’re disgusted. Maybe the smell doesn’t apply to human food.

“Everything alright?” I ask anyway.

“Oh, no. We’re just a little shocked that it smells so good inside the car now. Now that you’re back and now that we have delicious smelling bread.” They smile.

It was probably a little annoying to be left in the car. They can easily roam around any part of the forest but here they’re trapped.

“I just realized that you keep getting subjected to smells you hate, Sana. Like the faes in my cabin and now here in the city.” I jab.

She tears her crepe apart and proceeds to shove two bread rolls inside her mouth. She munches and munches until finally, she swallows. She takes a sip of the smoothie and proceeds to prepare herself to talk.

“Well yeah. That’s just my thing. I just attract dangerous things.” She grabs another bread then winks at me.

“Ah! Well I don’t think I’m that dangerous!” I nudge as I happy munch on my crepe and sip my smoothie.

“We should do this more often!” I say before immediately regretting it.

The two of them look like they’re about to murder me, “Hahaha! Kidding!” I said to save my skin.

⁂

The hardware store that I frequently visit is JARDONs. It’s got everything from quality lumber to a little aisle where they sell locally made soap. It’s also the biggest hardware store in Abalone. It takes up so much space but it’s located almost at the center of the city.

It’ll take us a while to get there, if there’s less traffic we’ll arrive in about 20 minutes. The city has gotten bigger than I remember. The malls have more extensions and they’re building another sky scraper. I haven’t even been gone for that long and the city changes its shape as if it’s as easy a breathing. It’s easy to get lost without a GSP for sure, even if you’re a local.

We pass the monument park that’s built on a preexisting building. There’re still remnants of the war even now. It got me thinking.

“The city’s bigger than I remember. It used to be smaller a few years after the war. My sisters and I weren’t even born when the war ended, but we saw the devastation growing up. When we travel to major cities, we’d have to pass through wreckage before we get to the hotel venues. ” I tell them as if this bit of information was important.

I stare unto the wide city roads, the intertwining overpasses, buildings, bridges and tunnels. A city built on top of an old city. The lights seem almost eerie now. I wait for their reply.

“We get what you mean. At least to some extent. Neither of us really remember the human wars, but we’ve seen humans stumble into the forest sometimes, injured and carrying guns. I know Mei has strong opinions about these wars.” Sana replies.

“Mei…was a soldier?” I asked, a bit surprised.

“Not exactly. He was a field nurse. But we don’t know any more than that.”

I respect the privacy that Mei chooses to keep and decide to change the topic.

“Well. We’re almost there! The city gets a bit weird in these parts, lots of tunnels and taller buildings. It’s really pretty but it’s also so crowded, right? There’s so much going on. So many people.” I exclaim.

Beige just stares outside the window, his melon pan still half finished.

“Tell me about it!” Sana agrees, “There’s so many humans! All cramped up together inside this metal cage! There’s just too many. And these towers seem like they’re going on forever but not in a good way!”

I nod and chuckle. There’s still something about the denseness that I like. Like how, sometimes I can find hidden gems among the mess.

“There’s certainly all types of buildings and skyscrapers but look, can you see over there? The building shapes like a tumbler? It’s the only smooth one out of all the sky scrapers in the city. That’s where most parties are held, haha~!”

I point at the Diamond Convention tower. It hosts all kinds of events, big and small. The higher the floor you’re in, the fancier it gets. Although the top floor’s private property. It’s a useful well-meaning tower.

Sana looks at the tower as if a moth entranced by the light.

“That one does feel different. I wonder if I could go there someday.” She replies.

“Maybe. Maybe someday.”

⁂

We’re finally at JARDONs. It’s a long square-shaped building with no discernible design whatsoever. It’s just plain glass brown with a large glass entrance door. The parking lot almost seems as wide as the hardware store.

“Alright. There isn’t a lot of people anymore because it’s kind of late to go shopping for furniture and wood so I think you guys will be fine. Oh but just in case, I forgot I had these masks inside my glove compartment. They’ll surely be useful.”

They put on the black face masks and I open the car door. They follow suite and I can immediately feel their discomfort. Uncomfortable in an annoyed sort of way.

“Okay! So I made three lists of what we need. If we split up inside, we’ll be able to gather the materials quicker. We only really just need lumber, nails, and the general supplies for house building! We’re good?!” I scream to boost morale.

My two Weres give me an enthusiastic thumbs up and I give them their list.

“Oh! And if you guys find anything you like, don’t hesitate to add it to your cart! I’m loaded so don’t worry about the expenses.” I tell them.

Beige’s eyes seem to glow in a child-like and malicious way. I pray that he won’t cause my bankruptcy.

We enter the store and it’s as wide as a lake. I tell the Weres to ask for assistance since they’ll still follow you around anyway. They can fill their carts and bring the large purchases to the car wagon the store offers.

⁂

I believe it took us three hours to collect all the things we needed plus the additional things that they put in their carts that were probably extremely unnecessary. We also bought more food and bread from their cafe extension. And I think the both of them have fun. I never noticed until now but their appellations in the city seem dimmer than in the forest. It’s probably because the forest isn’t as bright.

We’ve loaded our car wagon and attached it to my car. I have to drive slowly as not not hit anyone with the lumber that we bought. I couldn’t have carried them all without the help of my two Weres right now.

As we slowly leave the city, we could see the large moon rise up from the gaps of the city and shining brightly despite the layer of clouds surrounding it. We pass the overpass with the signage and bid farewell to the shining top of the Diamond Convention tower.

Sana howls and Beige follows. I focus on driving my car, content with today’s accomplishments.