The Sign

Watch out for the green light. That sign never made much sense to anyone. There never was a green light, and even if there was why would you be scared of it? So the sign went ignored, and the foolish people of the small town would live to regret that decision. It started with the animals, they all disappeared one night, somehow every animal in the town was gone, because they ignored the sign. No one did anything of use, sure they panicked and cried, but no one actually tried to fix anything.

Of course, that changed with the kids, all gone one day. They ignored the sign. This caused a stir, the government got involved, hundreds of kids go missing and that will cause some problems. If only they read the sign. The kids would never be seen again, but the parents would never stop searching.

This is where we meet our protagonist Jesse. Poor poor Jesse, she was a kind girl, at just twenty-two. She was also a fool. Such a fool that I will not describe her, as to keep you from getting attached. Jesse worked at a grocery store in the downtown, if you could even call it that, of the city, if you could even call it that. Jesse was lazy, so lazy in fact, that she was about to be fired when the kids disappeared. But that took the store's teenage workforce, causing them to need her lazy, lazy hands. Jesse was still sad of course, she would much rather not have a job than the kids be missing, but she also wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She thought about the kids throughout her first few shifts after their disappearance. It was strange nothing of note ever happened in Jesse’s town, aside from the occasional carnival visit. But between all the animals and all the kids, Jesse was starting to think something was afoot. Now to you and me, Jesse may seem quite simple, but to the town, Jesse was as smart as the rest of them, which was not saying much. Jesse didn’t think too much more however, it was above her paygrade.

One day, a day like any other, Jesse was tasked with closing down the store. This was Jesse's least favorite part of her job, the nights in her town were creepy, there were little to no streetlights, and creaking whispers wherever you went. Making it hell to pass through on a skateboard. But Jesse still went, she needed the money after all. And it was on this day our dear Jesse would disappear. I did tell you not to get attached.

The afternoon went smoothly for Jesse, as did the night. Until, of course, she was alone. It was as she put the key in the final door to lock it she saw it. The blinding green, of a light shining in the distance. This light reminded Jesse of something, but she was far too stupid to figure out what, poor poor girl. She was, in fact, mesmerized. The light was beautiful, and it was calling to her, it wanted to share the beauty with her. So Jesse got on her skateboard and rode towards the light. She needed it, more than she’s ever needed anything before, more than she would ever need anything after.

As she rode down a hill near the edge of town she saw the sign, “Watch Out For The Green Light”, but she ignored it. That good-for-nothing sign didn’t know what it was talking about. See Jesse hadn’t quite made the connection between those that were missing and the sign. So she kept going, until she got to a forest outside of town that her trusty skateboard could never pass through. She apologized to her companion before abandoning it, she needed to know what the light was leading to. She had to. As she walked past the forest edge into the brush, the warning of the sign entered the back of her mind. She did her best to foolishly brush it off, but it was stuck there. There was something in her mind telling her to turn back but she ignored it. The pull of the light was just too strong.

Eventually, after hours of walking, she found herself in a clearing, in the middle of the clearing was a tall observatory, golden and atop was a shimmering green light, one that in all of Jesse’s years of exploration she had never seen before. In fact, she was pretty sure this had never been here before. Something about this triggered some of Jesse’s hidden wisdom, something was wrong here and she didn’t intend to find out what. So she turned around and left the way she came. Except she didn’t leave, all she did was enter through the opposite side of the clearing. She did this a few more times, exiting through one side and entering through another, until she got resigned to her fate. Something wanted her in the observatory and she had no choice but to listen. This is the fate of those who wander, falling into their own doom.

As she got to the observatory doors, she found them rusted off the hinges. She could see inside but couldn’t make out anything, she cursed herself for forgetting a flashlight. She tentatively pushed into the building, watching the ground to make sure not to trip. When she entered she noticed a soft green light trailing up the staircase, a light that was not there a moment before. She knew whatever had trapped her here wanted her to follow the light. And she would oblige.

Going up the stairs, Jesse felt something, well actually she felt a lot of things; fear, trepidation, curiosity, and confusion. But there was something else too, finality, the end of things, at least as far as she was concerned. Whatever was atop these stairs would be the end of her, even still, she would continue her climb, because even a fool can tell when there’s no way out. And Jesse had sealed her fate the second she got on her skateboard.

Unfortunately, she reached the top, a large green door separated her from whatever was beyond it. She knew that was the goal, whatever was behind that door was to be her end. But she couldn’t turn back, her body had betrayed her, so she did the only thing she could do. She embraced death when she embraced the handle. She opened the door and saw nothing but green, bright beautiful green. It would be the last thing she would ever see.

And so ends the tale of Jesse The Fool. Curiosity killed the cat, and knowledge did not bring her back.