Chatterbox

Sophia stepped out of the mild ocean lifting her snorkel over her head and made way for her notebook left lying in the sand. Pepe rushed to greet her wagging his tail and licking the remaining saltwater drops off her toes. With the hot sun beating off her back she longed to get back to the village, in the shade. She’d been in and out of the ocean all day taking samples and journaling results. It was her internship’s last assignment and she was looking forward to flying back to the states. She missed her massaging showerhead, the corner café below her condo with the best expresso, and most of all, her cat, Petty. Sure, the island jungle nowadays had cats and condos and café’s but none she would touch. Not with the strays having mange and the condos full of mold, and nonlocals knowing better to drink the water, caffeinated or not.

The next morning, luggage handle in hand, Sophia stood on the edge of the dirt road outside her makeshift camp waiting for her taxicab to take her to the airport . She was leaving but the next rotation of interns was flying in. She did not think her degree as a pharmaceutical tech would have landed her out here but for her graduation project it was mandatory to update medication data in waterways. Even remote ones. Just as she saw her taxi coming towards her from the palm treed distance, little Lola, as she was known, came running up to say goodbye. She was 5 and the owner of Pepe, the dog. Her family lived nearby spending the days spear fishing and adding to their huts in preparation of the next storm. Storms came often and fast along the coast repeatedly tearing apart the village, carrying waste from the nearby countries to their pristine shores. But they rebuilt each time as if nothing happened. “I don’t have time for games Lola, my ride is almost here.”

“Please, just one. It’s fun. I promise” Lola pleaded.

“Okay, just one.” Sophia looked down to see Lola holding some folded piece of paper contraption. She must have learned from one of the missionaries she figured as it was not usual for villager’s to mix with the interns or tourists.

“Pick a color” Lola stated, holding her hands out.

“Pink.”

Lola counted, “One, two, three, four. Okay, pick a number.”

“Seven.”

“Lola counted, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Now pick a shape.”

“Okay but last time.” The cab was in park patiently waiting. “Triangle.”

“One, two, three.” Lola stretched out her hands up to Sophia’s face and opened the triangle shaped piece of section to show her what was inside, giggling.

Sophia sat up startled and awake, looking about to see where she was. One of the flight attendants noticed her puzzled face and returned a look of curiosity. Walking down the aisle of the small plane she touched Sophia’s elbow. Sophia pulled away. “Ma’am are you alright? Would you like some water?”

“No. How did I get here?”

With her own puzzled the look the attendant casually said, “You walked Ma’am.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“We left for take-off about 2 hours ago, you do not remember? You must have been sleeping good. Sure, I can’t get you anything?”

“No. I mean yes. Some aspirin and a Sprite if you could.”

“No problem. We will land in another hour.”

Sophia sat back, pondering why she could not remember boarding the plane. Her head hurt so she didn’t get a chance to think on it too long. She drifted back to sleep having the most terrible dream. She was on the island, sitting on the beach starring out at the open ocean. She felt seasick the way the horizon met, a blending of similar colors, no color, sound of waves lapping and a seagull. It was getting dark and she tried to stand but found her feet buried in the sand. Starting to panic she tried digging herself out only to cause more sand to suck her in. Frightened, scared to death in fact, she screamed but made no sound. But there were sounds. Sounds coming from the ocean towards her, a hum, a cry, a splash. She could not see an anything but it sounded like there were many. A whale sound drowned out the rest for a moment, circling her, then incoherent chatting. She tried to turn to see if she could see villagers, but nothing. There were voicing now mixing with the humming and cries. She tried covering her ears but it got louder. She woke.

“Sophia. Sophie, open the door, it’s me.” Sophie turned opening her eyes to find she was home. Petty, her kitty was kneading her chest purring then jumped and ran across the room at the next hard knock. Recognizing her boyfriend’s voice, she jumped out of bed and ran to open the door's double latch, nearly stumbling on her luggage along the way. “Jared?”

“Yes dammit now open the door you’ve had me worried.”

Opening the door, she was even more confused. “You didn’t pick me up from the airport?”

“Um, no, remember I text you saying I had to work late. An emergency on one of the main lines. Wait? How did you get home, you don’t remember?”

“I don’t,” she said, reaching for head.

“Well now I’m more worried, what’s wrong?”

“My head is just a little fuzzy that’s all. I must have been exhausted and caught an Uber without thinking.”

“Well, I think you need to get checked out, incase some guy drugged you along the flight. It’s happening more and more you know.”

“I don’t think so, I mean, I’m still in my same clothes and nothing feels off except”- she reached for her head again nearly falling over.

“Whoa Nelly, let’s get you back to bed. Promise you’ll call the doctor when you gain your strength. I was just able to swing by before shift and I hate to leave you like this but I got to run. Text me when you wake up and I’ll get topside to call, okay?”

“Okay. I should be fine after some rest. And coffee, good coffee. Let’s do dinner later after you get off, I brought you a little something.”

He kissed her head and tucked her in even though it was 85 degrees outside at 10am.

After another 6 hours of sleep, she awoke feeling much better. So much better she got dressed and decided to go out do the shopping for her dinner date with the man she’d been dating for two years. Not living together was a mutual decision as Petty hated his dog and her overpriced Condo wouldn’t sell. And Jared having emergencies at the drilling site often kept him in company housing. He did not mind though as it saved money.

She made a list. Wine, salad, shrimp- then scratched out the shrimp, she was sick of seafood and replaced it with ribs to put on the grill and switching the white wine to red. After grabbing her coffee, she made it to the bus station two minutes two late and sighed at having to walk another five blocks to the transfer station. The city streets were busy. Increasingly with each step she felt as if someone was talking to her only to turn around and be given weird looks for her sudden stare. “What did you say?” She asked the man behind her in a suit carrying his briefcase. “I didn’t say anything,” he said as he brushed passed her. Moments later she thought a woman whispered while walking by. “Did you say something?” Sophia asked her. The woman scrunched up her face. “Weirdo no, lay off the drugs.” Was her reply. Bothered by this Sophia skipped the transfer station and decided to make a quick trip giving up on shopping organic and settling for the nearest Safeway. She made it through the store when standing at the checkout her head clouded over and the cries and wails returned. First subtle creeping in through the back of her head until her temples throbbed and they got louder. “Stop!” She screamed. Suddenly aware of all the stares, the checkout girl asked her, “Do you want this or not?”

“Oh sorry, yes. Having some sort of flashback, sorry.” She grabbed her bag and walked quickly out of the store. Her walk home was the same. Voices, whispers, all around she wanted to plug her ears.

By the time Jared arrived for dinner Sophia was two glasses in of wine trying to drown the voices pretending she was okay. Quickly chopping away, a carrot, cucumber, a tomato, the head of lettuce, she could barely hear him over the chatter.

“Sophia, are you listening to me? Did you call the doctor?”

“No babe, I haven’t had a chance, I’m fine, promise” she said, twirling around to face him, knife in hand looking sternly into his brown eyes to push her point. “

“No, I don’t think you are fine. I’ve been telling you about the new boss at work for ten minutes and you’ve not said a word. You look like-“

“Look like what?”

“Shit babe, I’m sorry. You’re pale, trembling with that knife, and just.. distracted. Did soething happen down there I should know about?”

“I’m barely 24 hours back in the states and just trying to make us a nice dinner and relax for this evening and if you want to help, go out and check the ribs," she said, raising her voice.

“I’m sorry, alright. I’ll put on some music and then we’ll watch a show. Probably just need my arms around you.” He patted her butt as he walked past onto the balcony where the ribs were sizzling on the grill. Using the remote he put on slow jazz. Sophia stared at the remaining salad to chop but couldn’t see it clearly. Her head throbbed and she fumbled in the cupboard for some more aspirin when an echo wailed in her head so loud she nearly fell over. “Get Out!” She screamed almost in tears running to the bathroom and slamming the door. Jared ran in. “Sophia what’s wrong? Did you just yell at me to get out?”

“No, no,” she said through the door. “I meant the noise.” She was sobbing. Banging her head on the bathroom wall she turned on the shower to drown them out. Cries, screams, whispering, so many voices infiltrated her head.

“God dammit Sophie open this door! Sophie!”

Picking his foot up to kick the door in he noticed the bottom of his shoe suddenly sticky and wet. Looking down he saw a stream of red flow from under the door. Blood. He kicked the door in to find she had driven the kitchen knife through the side of her head. She sat slumped over in the tub the cold water washing over her and spilling onto the floor. “What the hell?! Sophia!” He grabbed her in his arms but it was too late.

A week passed and funeral arrangements were being made. Letting himself in her condo, Jared winced at the reminder and having to take on the responsibility of her cat. There were a few items he wanted to keep of hers before family arrived as they had not made any plans to marry just yet, he just wasn’t ready to let her go. Digging through her purse he found ta crumpled-up paper in folds when his sister walked in. “Thought I would find you here. I came to help pack up some things.”

“Thanks Maya. She never stopped loving you even if you thought I stole her away.”

“Yeah, well it was my fault I flunked out off college. I will miss her. What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the folded paper.

“I don’t know, guess one of those games you play as a kid. I just found it in her purse. Has some sand in it. I guess this is what they play on the islands.”

“Let me see that.” She grabbed it from his hands. “I think I remember how to play. Put your fingers like this and move it to where it looks like a mouth and pick a number three times to get the prize. I remember filling it will ‘pixie dust’, just ground colored chalk, when I was little playing it at school. Here, pick a color.”

“Nah, I’m not in the mood for games Maya.”

“Maybe she’d want you to.”

“I get what you mean. Okay, uh Brown.”

Maya moved the mouth five times. “Pick a number.”

“Okay, 2.” He sighed. She moved the mouth two more times. “Now pick a shape.”

He picked square. She moved it for more times and opened the flap.

Two days later the phone rang. It was the county coroner letting Jared know Sophia’s family declined an autopsy. He slammed the phone down and grabbed his head. It was throbbing and he didn’t remember going to bed. The phone rang again. It was Maya letting him know the funeral was scheduled and it angered him more. He knew Sophia wanted to be cremated and her ashes spread in Italy, the birthplace of her grandmother. But being her and her mother never got along of course they did not honor her wishes, excusing her death to mental illness.Which he knew was complete horse crap. He laid back down only to wake hours later to the sound of voices. He checked. No coworkers outside his window. It was a one room apartment made from shipping containers so things tended to echo but there was no one in sight. He stood, feeling a bit off when a scream shattered through his brain. He grabbed his ears. Confused, he grabbed a bottle of aspirin and swallowed a handful down with a bottle of whiskey left open on the counter. He’d bought it days earlier and didn’t remember drinking any the night before but figured that’s what it does. In a few hours his shift would start 100ft underground and he needed food.

It wasn’t until he was clocking in at the tunnel he started to hear something. It was like a siren calling to him but not from the outside. His insides shook when the melody turned into shrieks and cries and he needed to stabilize himself in the elevator 12 stories down. By the time the elevator reached the bottom 100ft into the earth the chatter in head peaked and he screamed. It was enough to send several of the crew rushing to his side. “Jared! What happened?” Sonny, his shift mate stood hovering over him yelling his name but he couldn’t hear him over the growls and snarls in his head. At one point there was a baby crying then abruptly stopped at the sound of a splash. Jared held his fingers in his ears; his head was spinning. He got up and walked over to the elevator shaft and jumped.

“Sonny! What the fuck just happened?” Jared’s new boss Ike had heard the commotion and ran over. “Why didn’t anyone stop him?”

“It happened so fast; he heard the elevator going up and ran right over there. We didn’t think he’d jump. He loves this job. That’s another 100ft drop, how are we ever going to get him out? God dammit, it’s under construction what was he thinking?”

“It was like he, heard something. He was covering his ears. Maybe just not handling his girl’s recent death?”

“Okay Dr. Phil, tell it to the cops when they get here. In the meantime, secure the perimeter and don’t let anyone down there. This is my first week on the job, it ain’t going to look good.”

Jared had a small family compared to Sophie. In attendance was his mother, father, sister Maya, younger brother Doug and a few coworkers. Grandma was in a home and distant relatives were just that. During the funeral Maya fidgeted with the paper contraption she kept from Sophia’s purse. She decided, in honor of her brother’s work, and his girlfriend, her ex best friend, she would return to college and finish her degree, the same as Sophie. It's how the girls met. Then on a camping trip Doug tagged along on, he fell instantly in love. The rest is history.

In the global news that night on the TV, there was a report that toxic algae had overcome a group of small islands in the South Pacific and needed volunteer cleanup before the booming tourist season. She received a letter even though she’d failed the previous semester, an all paid trip to volunteer because of an unusual high rate of suicides recently in the region.

Weeks later Maya touched down on the small island where her almost sister-in-law had done her internship, a little girl named Lola came running up. “Do you want to pet my dog Pepe?’ She asked.

“Sure.” Maya replied. Pulling the folded paper out from her purse, Maya was inclined to give it to the little girl. With big black eyes Lola took it and winked at her before running away into the palm trees. Her mother could be heard in the distance telling Lola to keep quiet and stay away from strangers.

The End