midnight radio.: Saturday Stories: Golden Gardens & The Apple Tree

In an effort to enjoy the last traces of summer weather, we took a bus to a nearby beach. We were not entirely sure where the beach was located, so we hopped off the bus at the stop that seemed the closest. Secretly, we followed a pair of strangers who had been talking during the bus ride about visiting the beach. In the dim light of dusk we stumbled along a path through the woods. After many flights of stairs, near-tumbles, and several unmarked roads, we finally emerged near the beach. Although we left late and missed most of the sunset, the air was still warm and there were bonfires and people playing music.

Plotting something?

As the crowds began to clear out, we decided to head back to the bus stop. A quick way back to the forest path was through an old train tunnel. There was jazz music echoing from inside the tunnel as we approached. Inside crowds of strange people were huddled around various instruments. Everything was dimly lit from several candles which were burning in the center of the tunnel. The light cast shadows across the tunnel and gave everything an red glow. Immediately regretting the decision to take the tunnel, we crept past the mass of musicians who were eerily unresponsive to our presence, almost as if they existed in a different world.

She's on fire!

After surviving the tunnel, we reached the the forest and the bottom of a staircase leading to pure darkness. Bushes rustled and giant insects scuttled across the steps. What had been a long trek down to the beach was a blur going back up as we sped through the pitch-black forest, led only by the light from our phones.

Staircase to nothingness.

Finally we arrived at the bus stop only to discover that the next bus would arrive just five minutes after our transfers expired. Another bus was idling at a stop across the street so we went over there to see if we could possibly take that one. There was a kindly old bus driver who apologetically told us his bus did not follow the route we wanted. He then gave us two all-night bus transfers free of charge. This random, lovely act of kindness inspired us to roam around the neighborhood while we waited for our actual bus. Only a few blocks away from the bus stop, we discovered something wonderful...

An apple tree! And not just any apple tree; these apples were perfectly tart and crisp with a bit of sweetness. In the middle of the city, just happily growing out of the sidewalk.

After collecting a few apples, we each tried one and decided that the apples were too delicious to pass up. Because our transfers, gifted to us by the bus driver, covered us for the whole night we decided to take our time and further explore the neighborhood.