Tuesday: The Day I Realised I Would Have to Save The World

By Desy Melza

It was, as it turns out, inevitable. Not inevitable because of some prophecy, despite there being a fortune telling, but inevitable because that's how it was engineered. I was part of somebody elses design. I was carefully selected, convinced, pushed, prodded and cajoled into doing things I wouldn't normally do.

The government no longer had our best interests at heart and despite the attempts of The Following they were going ahead with their plans. I was totally against it of course but I wasn't the rebellious type, well not until Tuesday anyway.

Tuesday is the first book in a novella series. The story of Bliss Cardigan and Chip, her ever present sidekick.

A solar flare explosion shoved the earth out of its accepted orbit and onto a new one, the government used this to keep the people dependant on them. After 100 years it was clear the government had new plans that didn't just involve one city, but all cities. Not everyone thinks their plans are good, no matter the spin.

Bliss becomes both the saviour and the biggest threat but all she wants is to get some sleep and make sure her parents are okay.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kate Trinity
• Release date: Jul 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370842889

Desy Melza

Desy is all about main characters who have to save themselves and be their own knights in shining armour. But, because I don't want it to be too easy on them, I pick main characters that, up until the beginning of the books, were living quite ordinary, comfortable lives. And then dump them into chaos. The books are often fast paced with a sprinkling of humour and a dash of action. A fast ride of fun & crazy decisions, that in a normal world you wouldn't even have to make. (And if you did you'd probably ask a whole bunch of people for advice first.)

Book preview

Tuesday

By Desy Melza

Published by Pentickle

Tuesday © 2014 by Pentickle

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Nothing in this written work is meant to represent any place, building or person. It is all the work of the author's overactive imagination and any resemblance is pure coincidence.

Contents

1

2

Author’s Note

Tuesday

1

Tuesday was the day I realised I would have to save the world.

Not in the chat with your friends about how you would rule the world kinda way. But in the real save the world kinda way, like in the movies. Only this was real life and I was the only one who could do this.

Or so I thought.

Now you have to understand I didn’t wake up on Tuesday morning and yell Today I will save the world! It was more like a gradual realisation that the day was a bit weird.

And I say gradual because, well, come on it was Tuesday!

I’d always had this thought in the back of my head that the reason I was on this planet was to save it. But anyone I told just laughed at me or nodded and said Yes of course you are. We all are.

But I really meant it. I knew that at some point during my lifetime I would be required to actually save the world.

The trouble was I had no idea from what or how or when.

So that Tuesday took me totally by surprise, as I had other things planned.

Monday provided no indication whatsoever; I spent a significant proportion of the day asleep. I’d recently been sleeping badly, and now I thought about it, perhaps that could have been the indicator of impending doom. I mean, I suppose if I really was here to save the world there’d have had to be some sensitivity to indicators right?

I watched TV, knitted scarves for the poor orphaned birds of Blam Rock and ate half a packet of biscuits. Monday was ordinary.

Tuesday went more like this:

I yawned, stretched and peered out the crack in the curtains at the early dawn light. The last few days had been fairly warm and clear and today looked like it was going to be no different. I clambered out of bed and dressed. Dragged a brush through my hair and went to get breakfast.

See ordinary!

An hour later I stood in my tiny garden, watering the parched plants, and thinking the air seemed awful still. The kind of still that has you wondering whether you should’ve put your washing out after all. Even though you can barely see a cloud in the sky.

I use that metaphor lightly. Washing hadn’t been hung out in the city for at least ten years. There wasn’t room anymore and too many things could fly through it. There really should be restrictions on flying vehicles and where they could go.

My house was one of the more unusual ones. It had stood on this ground for over 100 years and everything had grown up around it. It had been in my landlord’s family for generations. I lived here because it was low rent.

There were some modern amenities of course. Legislation said there had to be certain things if you were going to rent out a property legally. For example: the ground breaking eco toilet -that did things I didn’t want to know about and transported waste to the energy plant. It was recycling on a new level but had its own never talked about pollution. I did not want to think about what went into the air from that place.

There was also the super convenient wash’n’dry. What could be better than a closet you put your clothes in, already hung up, that washed and dried them for you? The water was recycled too. Everything was recycled; in fact everything was recycled to the point of stupidity. No one had lawns anymore and my fake (very small) lawn was made out of recycled grass. Although I had some plants they had no value other than to look pretty.

The one thing that hadn’t changed was the job scene. In over two centuries there’d never been enough work for everyone. But it had spawned a culture of entrepreneurs. Now everyone who didn’t work in a recycling plant or for the government worked for themselves.

I was an entrepreneur, not entirely by choice, and not a very successful one. I made enough to support myself selling crafty things but there was nothing special about me. It’s not like I had a talent that would launch me into the world of fantabulousness and result in fame and glory. I was just a girl (okay maybe girl was a stretch of the imagination. How old do you have to be for girl not to apply anymore?) trying to make it in this huge confusing world. I say huge but in reality it was just this little portion of the world where we existed in what we called the city. The city was our sanctuary, our safety, from the wasteland of the rest of the world. It was horrible out there. No one -outside the government’s protection- had survived the explosive solar flare. Or so we were told. It was so long since it had happened there were now history books on it and we learnt about it in school. No one ventured beyond the city wall unless they were going to Neversee, a Sanatorium.

I should point out Fantabulousness is a district on the east side of the city, in Ocean View. It's where all the cool people live and hang out. I wasn’t one of them; the one time I’d ventured over with my new entrepreneur status, I’d been laughed at. Something about my clothing choice didn’t live up to their exacting standards.

Stupid place

So there I stood looking at the sky when a dark shadow covered my yard.

Alright Bliss? What you up to then? Craig called down from his law enforcement vehicle.

I was just looking up at the sky and noticing how calm it was I called back. Yup that was my name, Bliss. Bliss Cardigan, and when I found out what a cardigan was I seriously considered changing it. My parents had basically called me happy jumper.

Guess I interrupted that then! Craig called back. Thought I’d take you out for a meal tonight

He was always doing this, never considered whether I might have anything else on.

Yeah okay I replied.

The vehicle continued on its journey, keeping the streets and skies safe.

I didn’t fly because I didn’t like heights, or falling.

Anyway Tuesday. The shadow from the vehicle left my garden and, other than a couple of little red birds, I could hear very little. How many other people were stood outside wondering at the stillness too.

It was a rare thing in a city this size.

I shook my head before heading back indoors, there were orders I needed to fulfil.

Something about the day just felt off. I wasn’t hungry but I kept eating. I kept forgetting about mugs of tea and coffee I’d made and then drinking them cold. I even, at one point, forgot why I’d gone upstairs before remembering when I got back to the kitchen.

By mid afternoon I decided I’d better go for a walk and clear my head. I wasn’t getting any work done and I had parcels to post.

Yes, of all the things that you wouldn’t expect to be still around, the mail service still ran. Little old, cramped shops with counters and old ladies and bags of old fashioned sweets. No matter what alternatives were suggested the little old ladies always won. The convenience, the friendliness, the gossip, all combined to keep these places open.

Some people thought there should be more efficient package collection and delivery. It was like stepping into another world. My favourite assistant was Maggie, such an old fashioned name to go with an old fashioned face. No one knew how old she was and sometimes, if you were lucky, she would let you know just exactly what she thought of you.

She also had an uncanny knack for telling the future, not all the time, just when something struck her. She would just blurt it out at the person whether they wanted to know or not.

I remember one time, being in the queue behind old Bert, and hearing her say his teeth were going to turn up at the recycling plant. And they were going to refuse to replace them. He told her, grinning from ear to ear, he hadn’t lost his teeth. They were right there in his mouth. She’d smiled and said Next please

Turns out a week later, Bert’s teeth did end up in the recycling plant. He’d slipped in the bathroom and smacked his head of the towel rail. His false teeth pinged out of his mouth and straight down the toilet. Whatever happened to human waste put down the bio toilet didn’t affect the teeth.

Hours later a representative of recycling plant B turned up at his door: the teeth in a plastic baggy, a card of apology for the inconvenience (according to their policy there would always be a card of apology for the inconvenience), and a form to sign once he’d paid damages. I could just picture Bert’s face as he contemplated paying to get his teeth back.

Maggie had never given me a prophecy and I never expected one. As I said before, my life was ordinary and boring. Mine would be about who I’d marry, or an unexpected small win in the district lottery (I entered every week, everybody did, you had to).

Today you will realise what you always thought was true, is! she told me as I put the parcels down on the counter.

What does that mean then? I asked frowning; something I always thought was true was true? Yay I always thought the sky was blue and look it really is. I doubt she meant something like that but I had no idea what she could mean, and neither did she.

No idea love, where did you want to send these? she asked.

The addresses are on the labels I mumbled. The other assistants looked at me over half moon glasses and customers cast sideways glances. I’d gotten a prophecy and it made less sense than any other I’d ever heard.

I paid the fee, which seemed inordinately high -13 credits more than previous packages. I didn’t question it, didn’t even think too. Instead I pulled my bag over my shoulder and made my way outside.

Bliss! Bliss! a hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around What did she mean?

I was face to face with a girl I’d gone to school with but, as far as I could remember, had never seen since. I thought she’d gotten a job in government and moved across to Blackslide bay. Most of my school friends went to work for the government or the recycling plants. Most of them just fit in.

It took me a minute to remember her name, something fluffy.

Hey Bunny, long time no see. How’s life in Blackslide? What are you doing over here? I smiled hoping she would answer and leave me to my thoughts.

Didn’t you hear? I got married and had kids, two of them, twin boys, insane right? We moved to Ocean View a few months ago so I’m back in the area. I'm looking into some entrepreneurial ideas to make extra money. Kids are sooooo expensive!

Congratulations I smiled some more. I remembered now why we’d never been friends. How could you be friends with someone who spoke so fast about so many things it gave you a headache? Besides we’d run with different crowds.

So what did she mean?

Who?

The old woman in the post office? Bunny whispered.

Nothing that meant anything I shook my head and started to move away.

This woman in there told me all her prophecies come true Bunny was following me.

Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. We don’t keep a record. Besides when they’re cryptic they could mean anything couldn’t they? I was hoping she didn’t take the next step and link arms with me. I hated that. Oh there we go; she’d gone and done it.

I stopped and turned around to face her, shrugging my arm free and pulling my dress straight again.

I don’t think it matters too much anyway. I mean there’re loads of things I’ve always thought were true so there are loads of things it could mean. Vague prophecies seem like they could be easily filled don’t you think?

Yes I suppose you’re right. It just sounded exciting and I was hoping I’d get one. I’ve been in to post something every other day, so far nothing. Bunny looked sorry for herself.

Oh well, if you go down Log Lane there’s a Gypsy descendant who’ll spend an entire hour divining your future. I’ve heard she’s pretty good I turned again to walk away, hoping she would just go on her way and leave