The Elsewhere Express
Passenger Handbook
Lily
Spectral faces with hollowed-out eyes emerged inches from the surface of the ocean, coalescing from ribbons of silver light. Their translucent mouths moved in unison, whispering words drowned by the waves.
Lily retreated from the water, motioning for Raya and Q to follow her. Explaining the train’s baggage policy to new arrivals was her least favorite part of the orientation, but also the most necessary one. Due to space and safety considerations, excess baggage, emotional or otherwise, was strictly not allowed. Those who complied with the rules enjoyed their time on the train the most. Those who didn’t got lost.
“What were those things?” Raya said.
“They’re the next topic in the orientation.” Lily opened her satchel and pulled out a slim booklet. “I only brought one copy of the passenger handbook, so you’ll have to share. I’ll do my best to cover everything you need to know about the train’s excess baggage policy, but if you want to review it, you’ll find all the details in here. What I’m about to tell you is extremely important so please, pay attention.”
Memory was like a suitcase and Lily had learned how to travel light.
She did not hesitate to toss things she didn’t use, but admitted that sometimes she got carried away. There were quite a few passengers on the Elsewhere Express, however, who had difficulty complying with its luggage regulations. Even though the policy was discussed during the orientation, there were still those who failed to grasp how a memory’s length had nothing to do with its weight. Only a handful understood how the briefest of kisses could weigh twice as much as a decade’s worth of routine.
As much as the train wanted to accommodate everything its passengers brought with them, it could not. On another train, solving such a problem would have fallen to its engineers. On the Elsewhere Express, the task landed squarely on the shoulders of its onboard pharmacist.
Mr. Goh, a compact, box-shaped man who had a more-than-average interest in mustache wax, threw himself into the challenge. If a train’s pharmacy couldn’t solve the problem of excess baggage, then what was it for? He toiled for weeks, well into the night, twirling the ends of his pencil-thin mustache while experimenting with poetry that made the entire train car smell of sewage and sage. The pharmacy’s poems, bottled as drafts or packed in tins as minty balms, promised everything from a good night’s sleep to more energy. Its haikus were especially popular and known throughout the train to be good for hangovers and indigestion. The poems, though not equally palatable, were all pretty. And Mr. Goh’s excess baggage remedy was as thick as stubborn phlegm but the loveliest shade of blue.
Lily took a small vial from her satchel. A thick sea-blue liquid sloshed inside it. “It’s quite potent for something that’s only eight verses long.”
Q looked at Raya. “That settles it.”
“Settles what?” Raya said.
“That this is a dream. Most likely a fevered one.”
“Is it really that hard to believe that poems can relieve pain?” Lilysaid. “I don’t remember much of my life before boarding the Elsewhere Express, but I do remember that poetry has always been widely accepted as good for the soul.”
“The soul, yes,” Raya said. “The stomach, not as much.”
“Memory, even less,” Q added.
“Fortunately, this is a debate that we can easily settle.” Lily offered the vial to Raya. “One dose is enough to rid yourself of any memories you have in excess of your luggage allowance. Just memories you won’t be needing anymore, of course. You know, things like family, friends, the project due next week. Nothing that you’ll miss. The serum will let you keep important ones such as this orientation as well as everything you’ve seen and heard since boarding. The trick to keeping it down is to pinch your nose while swallowing. It’s best to do it in one gulp.”
Raya clutched her tote. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m drinking that.”
“How about you, Mr. Philips?” Lily looked his way.
“Um…no, thank you. I’ll pass.”
“As you wish. I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do.” Lily tucked the vial into her satchel. “Just as I couldn’t compel the Echoes.”
“You never told us what the Echoes were,” Raya said.
“Oh, didn’t I?” Lily directed her gaze to the lights swirling in the ocean. “They’re the faces in the water, the passengers who fell from the train when they refused to let their excess baggage go.”
“What type of accommodations does the Elsewhere Express provide?”
Frequently Asked Questions
The Elsewhere Express
Passenger Handbook
Q
