The Yeti and The Mermaid...Chapter 7

in2itiveart (69)in #tribesteemup • 6 years ago

Chapter 7

The Fool Ponders, Oil & paper mache on panel, 12" x 13" x 2", $333

But how to get back there? The mermaid prayed about it. A few weeks later she saw her old area code show up on her phone.

A friend showed up unexpectedly from Queen City. He is a veteran, and he told stories of how many services there are, there for veterans. The yeti is a veteran.

They had looked into that option already there from a craigslist ad but to no avail. Services were tapped out and the VA in this Abaddon seemed to be run by money-hungry corrupt non-profits which would pop up whenever the feds made money available for vets. The money would magically disappear when it came to actually getting the veteran's services. Housing was so sought-after that not even the VA could make an inroad. After many weeks, a lady from a small non-profit had called the mermaid to offer the yeti a seedy SRO. The mermaid had not even considered the VA a viable option.

The friend promised to help the mermaid and the yeti get hooked up with services. That settled it. They started making plans to leave. The yeti spent his check that month on getting the mermaid's car ready for travel. He wanted to go.

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The mermaid searched her heart for the right answer feeling unsure that taking a trip far away was correct, because she would leaving behind her family-of-origin for forever this time, she knew. Right as she was leaving they told her they wanted her to stay. But when she was there she rarely saw them and they disapproved of her life and her decisions.
It did not matter. She had to try for the sake of the yeti because she alone could not provide him what he needed. She prayed a prayer that works when she does not know what to do: "Bless it or Block it" As the time to leave drew nearer, it continued to seem right.
She had lost her tiny little job making $100 per week helping her cousin with dementia make art. Her cousin had had a stroke so she was let go. She paid her last month's rent with barter, her room had been given to another, she was about to have no home herself - so it seemed appropriate that she get in the car with the yeti and drive 1200 miles east to the Aquamarine City. The yeti was in a combination of terrible fear and excitement about the trip himself. He pondered and flip-flopped as they both wait for the day to arrive.

The day to leave finally came, and the yeti & the mermaid got in the car to drive to the Aquamarine City. It was to take them 3 days to get there. They had planned to sleep in rest areas along the route. The trip itself was ghastly. The yeti had told the mermaid before they left that he knew how to tie their belongings to the roof-rack of the car. The mermaid at this point had only begun to learn that the yeti really knew how to do nothing besides wash dishes and roll cigarettes make pretty drawings and write stories about spies.

He has no idea how to tie luggage to a car using rope. Somewhere between here and there in an incredible wind storm, bags flew off the car roof. The mermaid lost a bunch of stuff that was near to her heart. They slept in a rest area where it was cold and raining. The yeti was ranting and arguing with the neighbors all night.

Next morning, the mermaid crawled up on the car-roof to retie her belongings. She has brought everything back with her. Much more than she came with. She has been gone from the Aquamarine City for 8 months, and she had been prolifically creative in that time.

The following day of driving was worse than the one before. The mermaid was baffled. She had thought the trip was going to be fun! Instead it was a dark night of the soul. They slept in a rest area just outside Las Vegas. Once again, the yeti made enemies all night with gambler youth that drove in and out of the rest area. They were making fun of him because his ass was hanging out of his jeans.

They started driving at dawn, and the mermaid prayed a lot, and had periods of mental rest followed by hours of turmoil in which they were incredibly cruel to one-another. The mermaid did not know how to deal with the depth of her despair and his. In addition, she has forgotten that the weather at that time of year is still cold as they get closer to the Aquamarine City. At some point, the yeti opened the car door as they sped down the highway, threatening to jump. In retrospect, the mermaid guessed the yeti would almost rather die physically than face the unknown.

When she was 8 hours from her destination, she realized that it would be too cold to stop. She had already been driving for 16 hours and it was the middle of the night, but realized that she must continue to avoid the freezing temperatures. She had drank a Redbull a few hours prior and then had a 2nd one thinking that would help her stay awake.

Instead, on her sensitive system, it activated her "crazy". Just outside of a wealthy resort area, she had a meltdown and the yeti took the keys out of the ignition threatening to throw them into the woods. Somehow she convinced him to give them back. She begged and pleaded. This is one of the only times that the mermaid wondered if the yeti was going to kill her and dump her body. There was one other time when she feared this was going to happen, but he had always joked about killing her and plugging her body into the wall. Was it a joke? She knew she was delirious and had to just keep going. If ever there was a time to trust God, that was it. She trusted God even if she did not trust the yeti.
Finally, in early May they arrived at her girlfriend's house in the Aquamarine City and they are greeted with the answer - Yes - it was the Right Thing. Amazing Grace...the mermaid's friend, the butterfly girl began to help the mermaid heal the yeti. A long process was still before them, but the mermaid was no longer alone.

And how did she know it was the Right Thing? Because there was a group to help her. It was not just her working tirelessly for the yeti - there are others - people who help. There are people who were friendly. There were human beings who reached out and offered friendship and understanding.