Melanie was a road trip junkie. It didn't matter where she went or how long she drove, it was never far enough or long enough. By the time she was back home in her own bed she was already craving the next trip. Her bed only reminded her of her terribly boring job as a dental hygienist and her mother on anti-depressants one day and Ritalin the next. Her bed was every mistake she had made while drunk and looking for a little human contact. Her bed was two abortions and a cocaine addiction that took one overdose and four and a half months in rehab to kick. She liked to get away, to say the least. She was always looking for her next fix and since she was no longer a real junkie, her fixation had become road trips.
The only problem with road trips was that they always ended and she was back at square one. Not a single thing different. Her dirty coffee mug was still in the sink and the milk in the fridge was still expired.
She was perfect for Elsewhere. She was everything they were looking for and more. They could really thrive if she was around. Her never satisfied, there has to be something better than this attitude was inspiring really. They proceeded to infiltrate themselves into her free will.
It started with advertisements promoting the homey little town on the lake. Elsewhere was a tourist town. Cottage country. The only thing was, people didn't come and stay for a week or two to get some fishing in or maybe do a little water skiing before lunch. They settled down. They raised their families and most importantly, they didn't ever leave.
Melanie was young and had made all her mistakes already. Now that she was clean and sober all the time she was constantly looking for a new high. Elsewhere could provide that for her. They were sure of it. Or at least bring her back down to Earth where she could be satisfied for real. Simplicity was key.
It wasn't like the places she usually took her trips to. She liked cities and hundreds of strangers that could care less who she was. She liked being anonymous. No one was ever a stranger in Elsewhere, at least not for long. People made the effort to get to know visitors because they knew soon they would be their neighbour. Soon they would be shopping at the market with this person and discussing how wonderful it felt to be part of a community. Everything in Elsewhere was eventual. Eventual but always inevitable.
Soon, they were planting ideas directly into her head. Like how she would love to be able to go swimming in the lake every morning before breakfast. When these things popped into her head she shook them out and laughed a little at how ridiculous it was. She didn't even know how to swim. But she could learn, they suggested.
It was her mother's nervous breakdown that sealed the deal. Well her mother's third nervous breakdown in as many years. It was time to pack up and take a trip. Strangely, the only place she could think to go was a tiny lake front town called Elsewhere.
The doctors told her that her mother would be in the hospital at least a month for observation and therapy so Melanie kissed her frail mother on the forehead and promised to send a postcard. A postcard that would be ignored and thrown out by an orderly a few weeks after it arrived. That would be her mother's last breakdown before a suicide attempt that would render her a vegetable.
But Melanie would never know. Elsewhere had a way of keeping anything that might yank someone back to the real world just outside of its borders. The television and radio stations were broadcast from the island in the middle of the lake. No one had ever been out there but no one ever questioned its validity. Every day common sense wasn't a part of their thought processes anymore. What would that possibly accomplish?
Mail was sent back to the sender with a stamp encouraging them to visit in person. They would like Elsewhere. Everyone did.
Melanie arrived on a beautiful Friday afternoon when everyone was out on their porch enjoying lemonade and chocolate chip cookies. The news of a visitor spread through the town like a case of the sniffles at a preschool. Everyone wanted to be the first one to welcome the new girl. She was so young and pretty. A real gem. That's what they whispered and nodded to each other when she passed by.
Melanie drove her car straight to the beach where teenagers had their towels and coolers set up, perfectly spaced so no one was left out. She never went to the beach in high school. She was too busy getting high and trying to hide her second pregnancy. The innocence that emanated from the laughing teenagers was intoxicating.
"You must be Melanie," a voice said.
"How do you know my name?" she asked the tall blond guy she turned around to find leaning against her car. He was typical surfer gorgeous. But he wasn't a dime a dozen in Elsewhere. Everyone's type had a place here. Variety and diversity. That was what they were striving for.
He just smiled at her and took her hand. She would fit right it, he said. How can anyone object to fitting in? Elsewhere had yet to find someone that didn't want to be a part of something.
But there was something that wasn't quite right. At least to Melanie. She watched the way everyone fit snugly into there own little area of town. How they all had a place and yet how they all interacted with each other with the kind of ease that doesn't exist in reality. Teenage boys did not help elderly ladies cross the street and soccer moms did not pat their kids on the head and tell them to run to the corner store by themselves for a treat.
She was a little more corrupted by the intensity of the real world than they expected. But they weren't ones to back down from a challenge. Not in Elsewhere.
She was invited to stay in the spare bedroom at the house of the sheriff and his wife. She didn't question this odd hospitality. There was hope for her.
The blond surfer guy promised to teach her to swim and he did just that starting the first morning she awoke in Elsewhere. He was at the front door, flutter board in hand. Every morning they were at the lake while the sun rose over the trees and reflected off the water in a way that could only be described as perfection. She was skeptical of course but when perfection is something you never thought you would have and suddenly it is thrust upon you, it is hard to push it back. Elsewhere monitored her thoughts. They were progressing nicely.
But still, questions arose. She asked anyone who might be listening, never thinking they might not give her a straight answer even when they just smiled and handed her a glass of lemonade. Home made. Is there any other kind? Questions floated into the air and dissipated along with her reluctance. She was settling in.
There had never been a problem like the one that presented itself the beginning of Melanie's third week in Elsewhere. Precautions were taken to prevents things that would jeopardize the ambiance Elsewhere had managed to create. But they had overlooked one thing. Melanie's drug rehabilitation sponsor. She was their first former addict. They were trying to expand their population and include people that would benefit the most from their living conditions. There were a few glitches in the system that needed to be worked out and that was made abundantly clear when someone attempted to retrieve Melanie.
Mr. Carrington drove into town in his pick up truck that smelled of new leather and evergreen air freshener. He was frantic. Hysterical even. He needed to be ejected immediately. Usually visitors were welcomed with open arms and treated as brand new citizens but it was obnoxiously obvious that Mr. Carrington was far too volatile to be allowed in Elsewhere.
Melanie saw him before he could be dealt with. She shook her head and all the work that had been done was diminished.
"Melanie! You have to come back to the city with me right now," he told her. She resisted. She had been well trained. Well integrated.
But he dragged her to his car. The citizens of Elsewhere were distraught with worry. Was Melanie being kidnapped? They had to do something.
Convenience store clerks pulled out shotguns they didn't realize they had stashed under the cash register. Lifeguards picked up their baseball bats and soccer moms felt under the passenger side seats for the rolling pin they had there in case of an emergency. The truth was, there had never been a situation like this, meaning there was no reason for weapons. But Elsewhere provided it's citizens with what they needed only when it was needed. The mob of people descended on the truck like a band of bloodthirsty zombies desperate for a good square meal. They had one collective goal and that was to keep Melanie where she belonged. The willingness to destroy anything that got in their way was overwhelming and even surprising to some of them. But In Elsewhere, acceptance was stressed. Especially acceptance of one's own emotions even if those emotions felt contrived. Implanted really.
Windows were smashed. Melanie closed her eyes and buried her head in her hands in confusion. Her mind was yanking her in two opposite directions. Elsewhere needed her but she couldn't be elsewhere forever. Somehow she managed to hold on to that one thought. No matter how hard they racked her brain, it stayed in there.
Mr. Carrington screamed a scream that could have been heard six feet under. And just like that he ceased to exist. That's just the way it was in Elsewhere. You are one moment and the next you aren't. They claimed your free will and you were no longer a person. Funny how that happens.
Mr. Carrington had to be taken with more force than they usually liked but it had been an extenuating circumstance and they would have to live with it. The town was safe again. Safe and still growing in population. Because Melanie was pregnant, and this time she would have the baby. A healthy little girl. She would marry the blond surfer. Because that is what they had planned for her.
Elsewhere can plan something for you too if you are interested. Come visit the long, sandy beaches and hiking trails that surround the little tourist town. We guarantee you will never want to leave. There is something here for everyone and by everyone we mean you. Just take a look, no harm in looking. Bring a long a couple friends. We promise you won't regret it. No one ever does.