Chapter Nine: A Story

Mr T led me to a building made out of green glass. It was dome-shaped and sparkling clean.

"Come now, don't be afraid," he said as he pushed the door open.

One couldn't tell if the building was functional or an embellishment, it was so precisely made out of a connection of identical slabs of green coloured glass triangles that it may as well serve as a unique piece of building art at some architectural carnival.

We entered the building...

It was completely white inside, every single ornament and furniture from the floors to chairs, tables, coffee machines, water fountain, ceilings, pens, telephones, notice boards, uniforms, - hang on! Uniforms?

A well-built man winked at me as he walked past. He turned around and decided I was worth a few breaths.

"First time? When do you start?"

"Erm...I don't."

And with that, he gave me a most disgusted look and scurried away like a rabbit after a carrot on a stick.

"Ok M, have let's have a chat. Coffee please!" Mr T shouted as if a hot cup of coffee and biscuits would magically appear right in front of him. Well I suppose it worked, because it did. A white suited blonde brought them in a blink of an eye.

"Welcome to Axtical. At Axtical we strive to provide the perfect environment for our perfect people,"

Okay!! This is getting weirder, people! What is all this?

"You see, you are one of the lucky X-ers who accidentally found us! hahaha! Isn't she? Lucky pucky mucky!Haha!"

"Err..ok...so...how does that answer my questions?" I had mixed feelings. This was all too bizarre.

"Alright you poor little thing. Let's get down to business, eh? Come, have a sip of this wonderful coffee! Don't you think it's such a lovely day?"

"Not really..." I didn't dare sip anything offered by this increasingly unusual behaviour for a man with his prestige.

"So, you're all confused now eh? Well, let me ease your troubles! Haha! It will be gone in a flash! Here here, you are at my company, Axtical. We're part of a government project to clean up the hospitals and streets. Here at Axtical, we have one policy- Perfect White - that's our game. Everything we do has to be no less than perfect, and everything we touch has to be white as white, nothing less. We only employ the best. Interested? Haha...!"

"Please, Mr T, can we please get a move on? What is this place? Where am I , and why did I see someone like Lucia? What is the Water Village and what exactly are you clearing from the hospitals and streets?"

"Oh, my dear M. You see, six years ago, you found an empty house. Right? "

I rolled my eyes and looked away.

"That night, Lucia tried taking her own life. That's when I decided to do what's best for us."

"You mean force her to leave behind the only life she had? Well it doesnt.."

"HUSH CHILD! Be careful now. I did it for the good of mankind, alright? Well all this is secret. If i tell you, I'll have to kill you first. Haha! Gotcha! Just kidding! Oh I tell ya, this coffee is strong stuff. I hope they didn't put too much Xcetim in it!"

"Huh?"

" Ok, seriously now. You accidentally found us. No one knows we're here. You see, Lucia- is one of those special people who suffers a special condition. It's called Delusional
S. By the way, never say the word S here. It's taboo! She has two main delusions- one is to be just like you, the other, is the constant fear that she would find a dead body one day. It all peaked when she turned fifteen."

"What happened at fifteen? She seemed normal to me for all those years! When did she get this condition? Why didn't she tell her best friend?" I couldn't believe my ears.

"Ok. Let's start from the beginning. I moved my family there when we discovered she was delusional from the age of six. We lived in a busy city and figured that would not be much help. So we packed our bags and brought her there. Befriending you was the best thing that ever happened to my L, but soon things would go against her. She adored you and oh, how she wanted to be like you. You were her life, her only reason to comply to her medication- and stay normal. But as soon as she turned fifteen, things started to change."

"No! I don't believe you! It's not true! Tell me it's not true!" Drip, drip, drop. Tears again. This time I let it flow.

"Here here now, don't be like that. This is all true. Now would I ever lie to you? Ok. Back to business. Here at Axtical we take in every special person with Delusional S. On one condition, that they have been stabilised. We built a special village for them based on the most crucial element on the planet- water. The idea is that the closer they are to nature, the closer they are to their natural self. Each resident has their own community and they can only walk along the wooden planks to get to the other River Community."

"What about all the poor people and sad faces? And don't they need their medication?"

" Ah, they are all special people of Delusional S. The reason they looked a bit out of it is because of their medication- Xcetim! It's in the water. Just like in this coffee here, which by the way, you haven't touched. It took us thirty whole years to finally get this wonder drug out into the market! It gives them a sense of security and well being. Once they are stabilised on their conventional medications, they are put on Xcetim. Xcetim prolongs the effect of their old medications and they don't have to take them anymore- and we don't have to worry about compliance issues or whatever we usually worry about."