Blue Falls

The rutted dirt road seemed to travel forever. It twisted and turned, twisted and turned, twisted and turned. The people were everywhere. Whole families traveled this road from their villages to the city. I got a few smiles but mostly just blank stares. I was an outsider so it was expected.
I met the most amazing people along this stretch of road. Walking between the city and the villages was no easy trip. It took two days to the nearest village and weeks till the furthest. That’s where I was heading. As far as possible.
The little fishing boat I hitched a ride with landed here five days ago. I came down with an infection on the boat ride over so I had been staying at the local inn till I felt strong enough to travel. The food was delicious but wasn’t sitting well with my body. I puked and puked and puked but now I was ready to go.
All I had with me was my pack which held a some clothes, a bottle of water, a knife, a piece of rope and some bread. When I packed I wasn’t sure how long I would be away for. I didn’t think it would be this long but I’m glad it is. The world is wonderful.
“Whoa watch where you’re going!” some guy said to me.
“Sorry I wasn’t paying attention. Where are you going?” I said.
“No problem but you’ll want to be careful on this road if you’re traveling alone. A lot of people carry weapons.” He was holding my knife.
Hey! How the hell did you get that?
“Funny thing this road.” He handed me back my knife. “I’m chris and the answer to your earlier question is Blue Falls. A wonderful place really, filled with blue skies, blue water and blue people.”
“Blue people?”
“I’ll show you John if you just follow me.” Chris said.
“How?? How did you know my name?”
“I know a lot about you. Even what you’re searching for.”
“Bullshit. Who says I’m searching for anything? I said.
“You’re eyes.”
And so I followed him. We didn’t talk much after that point but he pointed to interesting and strange things along the way. I saw a two headed cat sleeping in a tree above us. There was a flower as large as a house that stole all the sunlight from the surrounding flowers. It was the most beautiful flower I had ever laid my eyes on.
When the sun started to set Chris thought it was good idea to rest for the night. There was an inn that we walked too. The inn keeper lead us to our rooms upstairs. We agreed to meet each other for dinner after we got cleaned up. I didn’t have many options when it came to clothes so I just threw a pair of jeans on with the white tee shirt I was wearing earlier. I decided to leave my boots upstairs. I noticed earlier that most of the inn patrons weren’t wearing shoes.
I spotted chris at a table in the back. He was sitting with a blue person. Wow. The person was actually blue. Skin. Hair. Teeth. Everything.
“Hi” I said as I pulled up a chair.
“Hey John, I see you realized you didn’t need shoes. People in this part of the world find it unfriendly to wear shoes while they’re eating. It was good of you to take them off. By the way this is my friend Everett.”
I just stared. Not sure of what to say. Sure I’ve meet people of different colors before but never blue. To tell you the truth it was actually beautiful. His skin wasn’t a dark blue but it wasn’t sky blue either. It was the perfect shade of blue for a person.
“Hey John. First time seeing someone from blue falls?” Everett said.
“Yes. Sorry for staring.” I said.
“It happens. As far as we know we’re the only people in the world this color. In blue falls we have these underground rivers that are crystal blue. The most beautiful color you’ve ever laid eyes on. Hidden deep under the earth our rivers run blue and cold. Our people grow up drinking it, swimming in it and eating fish out of it. We’re quite happy about it actually. We never feel alone since we’re so a like.” Everett explained.
“I would love to see them” I said. Not sure of what else to say but definitely intrigued.
“Well keep following me John and see them you will. You see I meet Everett in a fishing competition in blue falls. He caught the biggest fish that day and ended up beating me but I say he had an unfair home field advantage.”
“Just admit I’m the better fisher.” Everett said.
“Fine but I’m better looking.” Chris said with a smile.
We all ordered the fish and drank delicious beer from one of the villages. We talked about ourselves and where we were each headed. It was a fun night. I definitely needed it after all the traveling and the infection I went through. I don’t remember when it was but we went to sleep late.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“ John wake up if you want to walk with me.” Chris yelled into my room.
I showered and got ready for another day of adventure. We had bacon and bread before we set off that morning. Chris was wearing boots and shorts. He had all sorts of tribal markings on his skin. I was curious as to what they were but we had a long way to go some I’m sure I would find out eventually.
The sun was rising when we stepped out of the inn. It had rained the night before and the rutted dirt road was now muddy as well. I figured it would slow us down but not to much. It would dry eventually. The birds were chirping and I was eager to see this new world. I was excited for the under ground rivers, blue people and new friends. It was a new day.