Glitch

The world is ending!

The hordes of hell have ascended to drag us all into the fiery pit, but before they do that, they are, apparently, going to torture us with the vile sounds of the pain and suffering of the doomed first.

"This cannot be the town's song!" I exclaim, covering my ears with my hands. "That is not even a song!" 

If disappointment were translated into a sound, this would be that sound. Trumpets blaring seemingly at random over trombones, with drums going nuts in between. The colours in the air blend in unpleasant greys and dirty hues as the waves of distorted sound hit them, chasing them around.

Phantom's Rest deserves a song as beautiful as its tree-lined streets, gabled roofs, curling awnings, and glorious fields of maise, corn, and sorghum. It deserves the soothing sound of bellowing cows, the happy gurgle of babbling brooks and the cheerful chirping of the birds who are all escaping now to get away from this gut-destroying sound.

No bird songs will be heard in this town or district ever again! They've all taken flight for lands unknown where this horrible noise cannot reach them, and I wish they'd taken me with them.

Since I woke up from that long, long sleep almost two years ago, loud soul-devouring sounds have been hard for me to bear. My head is starting to pound, my heart is contracting so tightly it feels like it's strangling me, and I'm having difficulty breathing. I'm trying to hide its effect on me, but I cannot stop the whimper from escaping from my lips.

The orchestra is well-known for making horrible sounds; I don't know why I allowed myself to be tricked into thinking the town song would be any different. It's my own delusional expectations causing this devastation of my senses now. I should've braced myself. Seeing Cody, feeling joy and experiencing all the beauty around me lulled me into this misplaced sense of security which is harshly being shattered now. 

Relief outweighs my guilt when Sindy laces her fingers with mine, gently squeezing my hand. She is always looking out for me. I'm constantly telling myself that I will not be a burden on my family any longer, but then something happens; a scream, someone calling a name I remember with pain, or an orchestra destroys the gentle airwaves with ear-shattering noise, and there I am again, on the verge of a meltdown, clinging to Sindy's hand as if it is a lifeline.

"It so is this town's song," Allie says on my other side, confusing me out of the darkness starting to form at the edges of my vision, threatening to swallow all the colour from the world. "Don't you hear it?"

I glance at her, sure she is angry at me again, trying to goad or taunt me. She often does that, and I wish I knew why she hated me so much. I'm surprised to see her smile happily. She's not giving me that irritated, angry look she's always giving me; instead, she is doing weird things with her body. She has her hands out in front of her, crossing and uncrossing them, swapping their positions while she's wiggling her legs in a comical way that doesn't suit her pretty, dainty outfit at all.

The hem of her dress ends just above her knees, and the move she's making has a bizarre effect on her legs; she appears to be a bit knock-kneed and made of jelly all at once. If it weren't for the happy expression on her pretty face, I would've thought she was having a seizure. I cannot stop the laugh from bubbling up inside me.

"You're right!" Sindy giggles, and now she is shaking her butt, too, crisscrossing her hands and wobbling her head. I think the horrendous blaring sounds must be scrambling her brain! "Come on, Glitch! You know this too. You were one of the creators, after all!"

I watch my cousins twirl around, sticking out their bottoms, waving their hands in the air, and when a few other brides start to laugh, nodding in agreement and join in the weirdest dance ever, a memory unlodges itself from where it was stuck in a neuro pathway, hiding in the darkest corridors of my mind and suddenly my brain is filled with a burst of Technicolour detail. 

I do know this song, and I do know this dance! I know it very well!

About four years ago, during the Before, Granary Downs, the agricultural district with Phantom's Rest at its heart, had an exceptionally dry summer. The residents were all on high alert, tensely waiting and praying for the rains to start and bring relief, save the crops and, ultimately, life as they knew it. As is often the case during such dry, hot seasons, fires broke out, threatening to destroy everything in their path. Miles of crops were devoured; livestock and homes were at risk.

Everybody who was able to help did so. They all worked tirelessly to end blazing fires and prevent more. When one farm was saved, another would become at risk. The horror continued for three days until blessed showers of rain finally came in answer to their prayers and drenched the earth, saving the community.

During those days of hardship, the town square served as food, rest, first aid, and recreation refuge, and everybody who couldn't be out in the fields beating flames and driving water trucks was there, serving those who returned injured, hungry and tired.

After about a day of suffering, with no sign of relief, spirits were low, and the town lost its sparkle, its heart being crushed by despair. Since we were considered too young to go out into danger, Sindy, Allie and I were among those who stayed behind to serve and take care of the people laying their lives on the line. The stress got to us too, as we had little rest and were constantly cooking, serving food, and tending minor wounds.

Everyone was scared; everyone was suffering. The town was clothed in a thick mantle of depression and misery. We all needed at least some short bouts of reprieve, and that was when inspiration struck. My cousins and I once discovered an old song on the internet that always had us dancing and giggling, driving Aunt Rosemary up the walls. We decided it was the perfect song to bring some fun back into a time quickly spiralling into soul-sapping dread.

The three of us created a dance, very loosely based on the moves we saw in the video, and we taught it to all the other helpers and servers who were willing and able to join in. At random intervals, whenever the mood was becoming especially bad, and exhaustion was taking its toll, we'd play that song over the sound system and do our dance, weaving among the tables. At first, we received frowns, and then there were a few confused smirks, followed by some laughter, but eventually, others joined in too. Hearing the tune and making silly moves helped everybody regroup and keep up flagging spirits during those gruelling days.

Most of the people in the district eventually stopped resisting, learned the moves (or made up their own) and joined in the dance, and to this day, the servers at Lola's Diner still use it at random intervals to take a break and lift the spirits.

Laughing, my body joins in long before my brain completely recalls all the silly moves we made up. Just like during the time of its invention, the dance spreads like a fire before the wind among the folk of Granary Downs, and soon, most of the people are wiggling and squirming, wobbling their legs, sticking out their bums, flapping their hands and wobbling their heads.

"People! People, please!" Humphrey's voice booms over the cacophony of the orchestra, but nobody is paying any attention to him. "Brides and Grooms! Las Ketchup is not the Town Song! I repeat! The orchestra is not playing Las Ketchup!" 

He is trying hard to bring the ceremony back to an order it never had in the first place, but he might as well admit that launching that inept orchestra on the unsuspecting population of Granary Downs was bound to cause all kinds of chaos. He soon gives up on trying to convince people that the noise we're subjected to is anything other than a bad attempt at playing the Ketchup song.

Even stall owners, festival organisers and general spectators are joining in the dance. It is, after all, the only dance known by all of us. Those who don't remember the moves are making up their own, which is fine since the dance is just something thrown together by three young girls during a tough time in the history of the town and countryside. 

Perhaps it is this sense of community, bringing the colours back into their normal, happy patterns and flows, enhancing the festival's entire point, that eventually causes Humphrey to join in the dance. He has the appearance of a demented marionette, his rather bony body jerking and twisting as he tries to perform his version of the moves.

"Aserejé ja de je de jebe tu de jebere sebiunouva majabi an de bugui an de buididipíi!" he tries to sing the lyrics that all of us are turning into even worse gibberish than the chorus is already made up of. Few of us even know any of the recognisable words, but we're not letting that simple fact deter us at all.

His performance is a thing of beauty, and so is seeing the whole town gyrate while making strange sounds, trying to sing the song that once brought relief to us during a very trying time.

The Inspiration behind Humphrey's sudden joining of the happy dance could also be the fact that for the first time in many years, the brides and grooms are filing in behind the orchestra, two by two in rows of four and sometimes six, which could almost be seen as organised,rather than forming the usual mosh pit of a chaotic horde.

When Cody finds me and weaves his fingers with mine, the dissonant chords of the orchestra start to resonate pleasantly with the voices of the citizens of Granary Downs. They take hands with the rainbows of returning colour to create divine beauty that drives the darkness completely from my mind. I'm once again holding onto Sindy with my other hand, and Simon falls into step next to us, putting his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and tucking her into his side.

The darkness has been increasing its attacks on my mind in the last month or so, and I'm having more and more unpleasant episodes, but right now, gazing into Cody's bright eyes, seeing his crooked smile and his cheeky hair, there is only room for light, colour and joy up there among the cobwebs in my brain.

~~~