Apartment 905 by Ned Sahin (best summer books txt) 📕

“Whoa, buddy. Where is your mask?” Rowan asks.

“Lost it,” Toshi says.

“He is not sick, don’t worry,” I say. I heard that people who use Oxyrica no longer can spread the virus through air. So, they should be safe. He may still spread it through contact to body fluids though.

“If you say so.” Rowan smiles again.

Toshi takes the bottles. He gives one of them to Kathleen. He drinks about half of the other bottle. He attempts to give the bottle to me but pauses halfway, remembering he is infected.

I don’t know what to do. If I drink from it, I take a risk of getting the virus. If I don’t drink it, they may figure something is wrong with him.

Kathleen comes to rescue. She gives her a bottle to me before Toshi gets any closer.

“You first, my lord,” she says with a sarcastic voice. Her reference to my favorite TV show that was all about kings and queens might drag the hippies’ minds away from the virus.

“Thank you, my lady!” I take the bottle from her.

“Well, I hope your kingdom is as peaceful as our village, Purple Haze,” Rowan says.

“We’ve been looking for new friends. Come join us!” Harmony says.

The last time we got an offer like this, the people of the town ended up chasing us to put an end to our lives. I don’t trust these hippies no matter how friendly they are and how cheerful their look is. But I know that we won’t be able to survive long on our own without supplies and a vehicle.

I share a look with Kathleen and Toshi. They seem to be leaning toward accepting the offer. We don’t really have an option. I turn back and smile at the couple.

“Jump in the car! We have some orange sunshine in the back if you want,” Rowan says. I have no idea what he is talking about, but I feel like I will find it out soon.

We sit in the back seat. Rowan drives slowly with his left arm out of the window as it flows against the wind. Harmony pushes a CD inside the music player. The voice of a guy with an apparent love for San Francisco resonates throughout the car.

“Enjoy the ride while you are on it!” Rowan says, looking at us in the rear-view mirror.

I see little Ziplocs of something orange inside. They look like biscuits with orange bubbles on them. Even though I’ve barely eaten since yesterday, I am not planning to try out this orange thing. I hope they have something else to eat at Purple Haze. What kind of place is that anyway?

Chapter 23

We approach Purple Haze after about twenty minutes of the ride.

The gate of this small town looks like a Chinatown entrance except for the absence of a dragon figure. Instead of a dragon, there is a figure of a dude with a beard and long hair smoking and sitting on top of the wide-open gate. On both sides of the figure, a variety of colorful fabric waves with the flow of the wind.

Behind the gate, the stores on both sides of the street have street art on their walls. Several people are sitting on the sidewalk or beach chairs while eating, drinking, and singing along to a melody an elderly male is playing on his hand drum.

There are rainbow flags, hammocks, and even a Volkswagen van with love and peace signs on it. The phrase “NO NUKES IS GOOD NUKES” between the front and rear tires make me chuckle. Perhaps they couldn’t guess that a virus would mess up the world instead of nukes.

Rowan slowly drives through the street. The colors change tone and shape as the sun goes down, painting the entire street with hues of orange and red. This place looks like heaven right in the center of the post-apocalyptic world.

Just like me, Toshi and Kathleen also seem to be mesmerized by the vibrant look, soothing smell, and rhythmic sound around us. Everything on this little street looks unreal. I feel like I’ve been transported to Haight Street in San Francisco about a decade ago.

Noticing the masks on everyone’s face brings me back to reality.

“We heard that Herington Rebels are looting the small towns. You must be lucky,” I say to Rowan. I remember the couple we encountered in the Church. If the rebels they mentioned went that far for looting, there is no way they missed this colorful and noisy town near the highway.

“They don’t care about us,” Rowan says.

“They respect our life, as we do theirs,” Harmony adds. It’s hard to believe it. One thing I know about mobs and gangs is that they don’t respect anything except money and power.

Rowan parks the car in front of a clothing store named Hippie Gypsy. We get out of the car while a young woman comes out of the store. She has long blonde hair with colorful beads and a white band mixed with red flowers. Her blue dress embroidered with white and green leaves goes below her knees, completing her fit look with sandals matching her red lipstick.

“Hello, Sunshine!” Rowan says, hugging the woman.

“Right on time for dinner!” the woman says.

Rowan turns to us. “Let me introduce you to my daughter, Sunshine!”

“Hi, I’m Toshi,” he says with a big smile.

“I’m Matt,” I say raising my hand.

“Hi,” Kathleen says. She doesn’t seem too happy to meet Sunshine. Maybe it’s the blonde woman’s photogenic look. It’s complicated to figure out. At least Kathleen won’t fall for the kindness this time.

“Pleasure meeting you all, friends! Lucky you, I cooked more than we need today,” Sunshine says with her eyes reflecting her excitement for meeting new people.

“Let’s get inside. I know you are hungry,” Harmony says and winks at us. We follow them inside their clothing store.

We go upstairs and sit around a table lit up with candles and a lava lamp. A soothing smell fills the room. I