FORTY-TWO: the Rabbithole

The Rio Luz split the City a third in two flowing from mid-North to Southwest and a boardwalk ran on both the east and west banks of it.  Arous lived east of the river, the same side as Rose House, the same side as the Rabbithole.  The only thing on the west third of the City were parks, museums and three HaleSpas.  The most luxurious HaleSpa was the North one which was surrounded on three sides: wall to the North, river to the east and forest on the west.

Most of the boardwalk on the eastern bank was below the surface of the street as if the river had carved a canal a long time ago that was too deep for itself.

Octavius and Arous walked down the boardwalk on the river.

“It’s odd Octavius.  I learned so much about things in the Bowl but you don’t really know them until you see them.  Like the river here, it seems so dead. Not like, things in it are dead but the Alippiana river, it’s alive.  The river itself is a living thing, a being.”

Octavius shook his head and the bell on the collar around his neck rung, a clear soothing sound.

“I know it’s hard to believe. This Rio Luz, funny but there’s nothing light about it.”

The slight hum of a boat passing caused Octavius to take notice as he paused to look. Every time something caught his attention he slowed his stride as if to meditate on it. 

“Maddening. Do you have to rubberneck at everything that passes by?” 

Octavius trotted to Arous’ right in his red satin collar with tiger-eye rhinestones which matched his brown tabby coat. It gave him a regal look even with the matching satin leash. He’d grown a couple of inches in just the few days she’d had him and flatfooted, the top of his head reached a hair above her knee.

“I can’t believe you’ve grown so much just eating cheese and nuts.  You are a strange kitten. It must be all that cream,” she sighed.  “If Burton’s right, you keep growing and I’ll have to hide you. Don’t get any bigger.”

She had a feeling he wasn’t going to listen.

She walked into the stucco half-roofed building along the boardwalk: the Rabbithole Coffee and V-Dot Shop.  It was a subterranean, a pale-pink faced building further colored by fading light coming across the water of the Rio Luz.

She smiled.

Something about stucco walls and wooden tables with uneven legs made her feel at home though out of place. Paintings of local artists covered the walls and bookshelves filled with old dusty writings filled the vacant spaces.  Nestled in a corner to her right was a small stage adorned by the dueling faces of tragedy and comedy hanging above it. Opposite the stage the threshold led to the outside courtyard.  She walked by the bar and outside. Various ivies crawled up the walls and hung down from the few broken beams that jutted out. She looked up at the night sky.

Arous found a nice table in the corner of the garden of ivy and stone.  As she walked to the table a dog trotted up to her and Octavius.

“Hissshhhhhh!” was Octavius answer to the dog; he puffed up to twice his stature.

“Octavius!  Be nice.” She reached down to pick him up, but thinking better of it, gave him a soft pop on the haunches and pointed to a chair. She patted the golden retriever on the head.  Octavius lay under the table right after he snapped a look at Arous.

Across the courtyard sat the dog’s master who observed the altercation over the rim of an e-reader. 

“Sorry,” said Arous.

“Quite all right.  He’s almost too friendly for his own good.  It happens all the time yet he never learns,” the young man offered.  “Trust me. That was mild compared to previous encounters.” He smiled. “Come, Harry.”

With a sigh the dog returned to lie at the feet of his master, averting his gaze from Octavius. Soon a girl came out to refresh the tea of the guy with the dog, Harry.  The young man was of slight build with sandy hair, almost white.  His light golden skin hosted a sprinkling of caramel freckles across the bridge of his nose.  His blue eyes sparkled as he smiled a warm “Thank you” to the girl topping off his coffee.  The coffee girl sauntered over to Arous’ table.