Kelly Olynyk sat alone at the bus station on the far outskirts of Kamloops. It was raining, the kind of rain that signaled the ending of summer, steady and cold, letting you know that snow was now only weeks away. It was late. How long he had been waiting for a bus, any bus, he did not know. He continued his ponderings from under the lone shelter, joined only by the sulfur-yellow light emanating from the solitary street lamp.
It had been a mistake coming back here, back to his hometown. He knew that much now. He could have anticipated what had happened, so predictable it was almost like a movie. What was there to be gained from digging up the past that had remained peacefully buried? Starcubism was a relic of his past; and a relic it would now remain.
Kelly was not waiting for any bus in particular. Wherever the first one that showed up was going, that’s where he was going as well. He could end up in Yellowknife or even La Crete for all he cared. Anything to be away from this place…
A slight movement in the distance jolted him out of his meditation. A figure was coming down the street, from the direction of town. Kelly strained his eyes, but through the darkened rain, he could be sure of nothing. He stood up, ready to flee. He knew that bums liked to hang out around here, and he knew that his reputation preceded him. As the figure drew closer, it spoke.
“Kelly!”
———————————
Kelly sat next to a drenched Moonbeam on the bench in the bus shelter.
“I don’t know why I came back, Moonbeam. I just don’t know.” Kelly stared straight ahead.
“Because I summoned you.” Moonbeam said, smiling.
“Don’t give me that hippie First Nations nonsense, you prick. You didn’t do anything. You were as surprised as all the guys when I showed up, naive and with visions of glory.”
“Don’t you mean ‘Visions of Mars’?”
“Don’t remind me!” Kelly groaned. He reached into his duffel bag, retrieving a vinyl copy of Starcubism’s first album, ‘Visions of Mars (Cubistic Journey part 1)’. Looking at it sourly, he suddenly chucked as far as he could into the rainy night. “I’m done with that part of my life. Starcubism was dead before I got here, and I now intend to keep it that way. Good riddance.” He lowered his voice. “I can’t wait to get out of this hellhole.”
“I agree, Kamloops, for all its rustic charm, is a bit of a hellhole. But there is no need to disparage our mangum opus like that, Kelly. We worked hard on that, you and I and the rest of the crew.” Moonbeam stared after the thrown album with sadness.
“Tough beans.”
—————————————-
They sat in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Before they realized it, a bus was idling in front of them. “BC Express – Canada’s finest discount transportation providers since 1973”.
Kelly stretched, raised himself, hoisted his bags over his shoulder, and walked to the now open door of the bus. He turned around. “Despite what I’ve said, it was really good to see you again, Moonbeam. You always were the best bro out of all the guys.” He held out his hand to shake. “See you.”
Moonbeam stood up and walked over, but did not accept the handshake. “See you? What do you mean, I’m coming with you! I’ve always wanted to see, you know, something other than this one-horse town.”
“Tickets, please!” the driver interrupted.
Moonbeam walked past Kelly and shoved a large assortment of bills into the driver’s hands. “No tickets.”
The driver looked bemused. “Don’t you want to know where you’re going before we leave?”
“Not especially, no.” Moonbeam smiled as he took a seat in the middle of the empty bus. “Kelly, are you coming or not? This was your idea.”
Kelly looked down the street, back in the direction of Kamloops. He could see the downtown still lit up. Somewhere in that glow was D’Ambrosio’s pizza, doubtlessly still full of rowdy high-schoolers. The vacant storefront where Before Christ records once resided. His childhood home. Kamloops Mega Storage. All of his memories, shining radiant in the distance. He shrugged. “Whatever you say, Moonbeam.” He stepped on to the bus, and took a seat next to his friend.
The door closed, and they were off. Kelly turned around as Kamloops slowly retreated behind them. He couldn’t help but feel a little sad as the last twinkle of light disappeared.