Short Story: Joe’s Morning Commute
Joe was an ordinary man. He still is.
Now, don’t be disheartened. Many ordinary men are the cause of a great story. Stories have a way of transforming people. They have the power to dazzle, to enchant, to alter the way we view the world, to change life as we know it in a single instant.
This is not one of those stories.
We find Joe stepping out of his ordinary house, on his ordinary street, on his ordinary day. He made sure the door was locked, and took a look around him. The weather was ordinary; slightly cloudy, not too hot or too cold, just warm enough that he could wear his grey shirt and dark grey trousers and not need a coat. Though he did miss wearing his coat. The light grey colour really livened up his outfits.
The neighbourhood houses, houses that all looked very similar, blurred into one as he quickly walked past them. He really didn’t want to be late to work. He rushed past his neighbours, giving them a small nod but not stopping for small talk. Now, you might think that rude of Joe, but Joe wasn’t very good at small talk anyway, so it was probably for the best.
Besides, Miss Ruby, the old woman who lived next door, always brought up the ghosts that lived in her attic whenever she chatted with Joe, asking if he could help her. She said that one of the ghosts had spoken to her, and had spoken of a person who looked just like Joe, who would be the one to break the curse, and free the spirits from this mortal realm.
Ghost stories have existed as long as death has. There are stories about ghosts and ghouls, in which one man has the power to speak between these realms. Stories which foretell the real horror: Ourselves. These stories take our hero upon a quest within, to battle against the demons in front of him, and the demons within himself.
This is not one of those stories.
Because Joe didn’t know how to help Miss Ruby. He advised her to call Pest Control, and made sure to avoid her from that moment on. When he spotted her walking down the adjacent street that morning, he took a different route. He really didn’t want to be late to work.
With his brisk walking, Joe made it into town rather quickly. The town was slightly busier than his neighbourhood, but not by a lot. In fact, it looked pretty much the same as his neighbourhood. Joe didn’t live in a very interesting place. Joe carried on walking, which also isn’t very interesting, but here you are, reading it anyway.
He walked until he had to pass through an alleyway. The alleyway was very alleyway-looking, with bins and cardboard boxes dotted about. However, within that alleyway-looking-alleyway, he spotted something in the corner of his eye. This is because it was right in front of him.
“Huh?” said Joe, who then quickly looked around, embarrassed. He didn’t want people to spot him talking to himself and be weirded out. Even he was weirded out, because talking to himself was the craziest thing he’d ever done.
Joe looked down, to see exactly what it was that was in front of him. It was a chest, placed in the middle of his path through the alleyway. Joe stopped for a moment to inspect it. Mainly because it was blocking his path.
Since unlike Joe, you’re not able to see the chest for yourself, let’s describe it to you. The chest was wooden, with some cracks on the surface. About the size of a shoe box, it was old and dusty, plain and unassuming, but there was something…odd about it. Joe couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something that had made it appear in front of him. Something that prevented anyone around him from seeing the same chest. Something…magical. Joe picked it up to take a closer look. Just a quick look; he didn’t want to be late to work after all.
Holding it up to his face, Joe could see that the chest had a poem inscribed on it. Or was it a riddle? You read it and figure it out for yourself:
Talk of virtue, talk of sin,
True temptation lies within.
What can be seen,
But never sound?
What is a circle,
But is not round?
Many of my secrets are,
Desired by men, strong and far.
But power cannot make me weep,
It is only one that I seek.
So try your luck, try your best,
See if you open this chest.
But do not be coy, do not be flirty,
I open only for the worthy.
“I can’t tell if this is a riddle or a poem,” said Joe. But he could tell one thing. The chest was rattling, which was strange because it hadn’t been rattling before. Was there something inside of it?
Joe held the chest even closer to his face, trying to see if he could look inside. There was a lock, but with the rattling, the lid seemed to be opening just a crack. Joe couldn’t see much, but a bright light was coming from within the chest. A sliver of light that was getting bigger and bigger, as the chest seemed to be opening inch-by-inch.
There are stories of those who find chests such as this, who find secret treasures, and must fight to protect them, to stop them from falling into the wrong hands. Usually these stories involve our hero finally realising that they are worthy, which gives them the strength to fight and beat unspeakable evil.
This is not one of those stories.
“The lock must be faulty,” said Joe. He placed the chest back where he found it, and stepped around it. Hopefully someone else would find it, so he wouldn’t have to walk past it on his way home.
Joe made his way back onto the busier streets. The traffic was occasionally noisy, but Joe could ignore it. What he couldn’t ignore, however, was a large swirling shape growing on the side of a wall that he was walking next to.
“What’s all this about?” asked Joe. I’m sure you’re asking that too. Let’s find out, shall we?
The shape grew bigger and bigger, glowing purple, as if it were a miniature galaxy, and Joe realised that it was a magical portal!
Before Joe had time to walk past it, three heads popped out.
One head belonged to a woman with silver hair and skin, her eyes seeming to sparkle like diamonds. Her ears were pointy, and she had wings sprouting from her back. On her head was a crown encrusted with rubies, sapphires, and a jewel that no one has ever heard of.
Next to her was what Joe assumed was a dwarf, who had a rugged appearance and a helmet on top of his messy green hair. A helmet which was far too big for him by the way, and it kept falling down onto his large round nose.
Above them was the third head, which was the head of an old man with a long white beard, a golden wand, and a pointed hat with stars on it. The stars fascinatingly appeared to move around before Joe’s eyes.
What was more fascinating, was that the three of them were looking at Joe as if he had walked on water. Though that might be an ordinary phenomenon for a Fairy, Dwarf, and Wizard. What would surprise a Fairy? Swimming in water? No, that can’t be right. It doesn’t really matter anyway, just forget it.
“It is you!” exclaimed the Fairy with joyous delight, “We had been foretold of our encounter with you, but I never thought that it would happen so easily!”
“Huh?” said Joe, who didn’t know what was going on.
“I am Etheria, Queen of the Fairies. These are my trusted companions, Wilford the Wise and Snarkle. We came here through the Effescerent Pathways in order to reach your dimension, to warn you of the Elves of Eradimus, and to give you the Titania Amulet.”
“Huh?” said Joe, who didn’t know what any of those words meant.
“The Elves of Eradimus have taken over our world,” continued the Fairy, “And we have suffered for hundreds of years. However, we have held onto hope, for it was prophesied that a hero would save us. That hero is you, Joe.”
“Huh?” said Joe, who didn’t know what else to say.
"Haven't you wondered why so many strange events have been happening to you?" asked the Wizard.
“I haven’t noticed any strange events happening to me.”
"Well they have been happening to you. And that is because of the magic that dwells deep inside of you."
“Oh. I thought I had just eaten something funny.”
The Queen of the Fairies held up a necklace that shone amber, which Joe assumed was the Amulet that she’d mentioned earlier. She gracefully offered it to him, and loudly stated, “Valiant hero, please accept the Titania Amulet, and go forth with your quest. Win this war, and gain eternal glory! It is your destiny!”
There are stories, stories which have our hero thrown into larger than life conflicts. Stories which are the foundation of our civilisation. These stories can inspire, can-
“No thank you.”
This is obviously not one of those stories.
“That sounds nice and all, but I’m sorry, I really have to get to work,” said Joe.
“But you can’t just say no!” exclaimed the Dwarf, huffing and puffing. “What about the eternal glory?!”
“I’m okay, thanks,” said Joe.
And with that, he gave them a little wave, then carried on his way. After walking down a few more streets, Joe rounded a corner and finally arrived at work.
JJ’s Cat Sanctuary was a small, insignificant building. But Joe couldn’t stop a smile overcoming his face as he stepped inside. The building contained large cages that housed cat toys and cat beds, and of course, the cats themselves. And those thirty cats, which were of all different shapes and sizes, looked so adorable that your imagination can probably do them more justice than any literary description. As Joe opened their cages, they bounded towards him, crying out for their breakfast.
“Hello, and good morning to you too,” said Joe. He went over to a cupboard and took out their food. As he served them their tins of wet tuna, which they hungrily chomped down on, Joe stroked their backs apologetically.
“I’m sorry that I’m a little late. I guess leaving five hours early still doesn’t give me enough time.”
Joe loved cats more than anything. And in return, they didn’t ask for much. There was that one cat that could talk, but someone adopted it the very next day, so he didn’t have to hear about taking his place as the saviour of the Secret Cat Kingdom for long.
An orange cat curled around his legs and purred softly.
“Don’t you worry,” said Joe, “Nothing could stop me from coming here. I wouldn’t abandon you guys for the world.”
There are stories that aren't very interesting, stories that are very small. Not every story is about a quest or significant phenomena. Some stories just involve an ordinary person and their ordinary life. But they are still stories worth telling.
This is Joe’s story. And now it is done.
And they all lived happily ever-
“No I didn’t,” said Joe, “I’m not even twenty-seven. You can’t tell if I’m going to be happy for the rest of my life when I haven’t lived it yet.”
Oh. Well then, Joe…lived. He just lived.
END
This piece was shortlisted in the Mind Short Story 2019 Competition.