Getting a passport at night is fun

Rykar Ryker had a dream as a child. The kind of dream meant to refer to goals and aspirations rather than the images and situations occurring through someone's head at night. Her aspiration was simple, alike many of the aspirations held by children all over the world. She yearned to become- a pirate. To rush through the open seas on a ship built of either metal or wood, the difference between those two was beyond her and so long as she could get on one it did not entirely matter.

"Being a criminal can be extremely lucrative." Her father had said after she had told him. "You might want to try being a thief. Pirates have insane taxing rates so most try to evade responsibility. Ten to twenty years maximum."

With her dreams crushed she searched for another. One more suitable. There were jobs, careers, and opportunities that landed at her door regardless of her age. However, she found herself unable to follow through on any and before she knew it she was graduating from high school without having ever gone on an adventure, worked, interned or rebelled at all.

She stood alone at graduation, staring at the screen set in the hallway of the main venue. Her eyes ran across the job opportunities and degrees at the varying universities displayed across. Most of them were either taken or completely full as students had applied for as many opportunities as they could during their first few months of their last year. Rykar had done the bare minimum and as such found herself without a plan for her future.

"I told you to do it last month." Her friend, Ruby Black, called out. Rykar looked up, feeling her heart skip a beat in her chest before it settled in guilt and disappointment. "And the month before that, and the month before that one. And every month since the year began."

Ruby herself had applied as a waitress for a local dinner and would study biology in a university abroad. The paperwork had been signed and taken care of and her lifelong friend would find herself half away across the world by next morning.

"I thought about it." Rykar said with a sigh, placing her hands inside the pockets of her jacket. The graduation cap on her head caused her to itch, forcing her to lift her finger every few minutes in order to scratch underneath. "Time just passed way too quickly."

Ruby smiled at her with a row full of pearly teeth. The strands of black hair framing her handsome features and the curtain bags across her forehead drawing an emphasis to her dark eyes filled with both concern and care. "There's still a spot left for the sculpture degree at Altlan university. Farming." Her eyes opened wide with glee and the corner of her lips twisted into a smirk. "Watching paint dry."

"I'm desperate, but not that desperate."

They both laughed and Rykar found herself searching for consolation in her friend, placing her head on the other's shoulder. She would miss Ruby, having spent most of their life together and becoming each other's support from the age of ten up until then. Standing beside her she felt small. Incredibly small. Ruby had always been the kind of person who could take the world by the hand and shift it to suit her. Rykar, on the other hand, was loved by life's greatest moments of grey. "I don't know what I'm doing." Rykar eventually said, admitting the reasoning behind her life long list of disappointments. Always quitting halfway through anything she set her heart to.

"Well. That's not much of a problem." Ruby said, moving towards the screen and stretching her arm out to the options. "There might not be many but there's still some. Take one for now or don't. Just make sure that one day, when you come across something you truly want. Make sure you never let it go."

The person behind the counter at the Immigration Office didn't really care much for the story. To the person behind the counter all that they really wanted from Rykar, as she went on about the reason behind her need for a World Passport, were the papers that the girl was holding without actually letting them go. Every couple of seconds or so they would come close to the person behind the counter, who would try their best to reach out for them. There was no need to hurry due to the lack of people at the office at night, however it was against the law to watch tv while a citizen was standing before them and as such they were desperate to process the girl's request quickly enough to catch the 'Passion of The Pirate Princess' reruns.

"I think I've finally found it you know." Rykar said, waving the folder with her proof of address, college registration, birth certificate, health number, and citizen number, from side to side. "My reason for being. So I'm going on a trip. I haven't thought yet of where exactly I am meant to go but I suppose any train currently running should be good enough."

The person behind the counter let out a heavy sigh, alerting Rykar to her exasperation and causing an awkward smile to cross the girl's lips. "My sister's fiancé is also abroad, if you need that information."

"We don't." The person behind the counter stated, finally relieved to have the folder in between their hands and finding that if the process started then they would only miss the first few minutes of the episode. The girl's fingertips against the counterboard drove the person behind the counter slightly mad. "Which passport will you be paying for?" They eventually said, hoping to distract the girl long enough for them to type in the information and scan the documents. The prices were displayed on the counter, the four options being those of a year, five years, ten years or pay-as-you-go.

Rykar hadn't really thought of how long she would spend away. She had called her school on the way to the office and asked for her studies to be paused. The eager staff behind the phone call had simply told her to take her time and to not worry about when to return. It was only when she found herself looking at the options on the counter that Rykar found herself realising that they preferred for her not to return at all.

The person behind the counter let out a loud sigh all too similar to that of a person who had better things to do. "You can always go to the embassy in the country you're in and ask to switch to a different passport." They said, placing the documents into the scanner. "Or use pay-as-you-go, which will set out a direct debit from your account."

"That sounds like a hassle."

"It's a popular option." The person behind the counter finished typing. "You didn't bring a picture?"

Rykar dug into her pocket pulling out the small envelope filled with pictures she had taken from the booth outside the office. It had taken her several tries before she finally settled on a photograph that suited the requirements. "Is it a liked option though?" The person behind the counter shook their head. "Ok. How long do you think it will take for me to fall in love?"

The person behind the counter sighed. "I don't know."

"I'll do one year for now then. If it's not too much trouble."

It was too much trouble but the person behind the counter found that speaking was usually an invitation to extend the conversation. The girl removed a silver card from her purse and introduced it into the machine by the counter, typing in her personal code. "Will I get a notification for when I need to renew it?" The woman shook her head and Rykar nervously smiled. "Does it expire one year from today or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

The person behind the counter stood from their seat and left, leaving the girl not entirely alone but feeling as though that would be a better option. She took the opportunity to look at the trains currently running and wondered which way to go. Her sister Dextera spent most of her time bouncing from city to city and town to town in Altlan. Rykar then attempted to contact her sister's fiancé who sent back a single reply, "On ship. Storm. Talk later." So she settled with travelling to the city her sister was currently in.

Her sister replied almost instantly with her current location and in the minutes it took for the person behind the counter to return with the passport Rykar had received a ticket purchased for her by her sister as well as a list of instructions on how to get to the inn she was currently in. A sudden rush of fear made its way through Rykar's heart who had suddenly begun to debate whether or not she had made a mistake. The amount of people supporting her decision made her feel as though it would be best to do as usual and simply remain at home.

The person behind the counter who was for a few minutes no longer behind the counter until they returned to the counter handed her the passport. A small card hanging from a lanyard, similar to that she used for her university. "If you ever lose it make sure to get it replaced at the embassy. You can leave your documents here with us for a fee or take them with you. You'll also need this-" She placed a small piece of paper on the counter with a QR code printed on it. "Make an account. It'll help you know what places to avoid, discounts available. It's constantly updated by the users so you shouldn't have to worry about any information being out of date."

Rykar nodded, scanning the QR code where she stood despite the person behind the counter tapping her fingers against the counter, practically begging for the girl to grab her things and leave. Instead, Rykar missed the cue of desperation and proceeded to make an account on the website. Entering her first and last name, country of birth, going through the selection of photographs in hopes of finding one that was appropriate. Most importantly she spent what seemed an eternity figuring out both her username and password, shaking her head whenever the combination seemed too simple or too easy to forget.

The person behind the counter coughed and to their delight Rykar noticed her exasperation and left the counter with an awkward smile. With the girl gone and no one else in line the person placed a pair of headphones in their ears, finally allowed to catch the reruns of her show only to find the end credits playing.

Rykar stopped in front of the large world map decorating the side wall of the Immigration Office. Countless brochures for each country were lined up before it, first by placement according to their place in the world and then by alphabet. She knew little of the world outside the borders of Altlan and even in her own city only her street and her school made sense to her. Unlike others she had spent most of her life existing without really living, following a routine that not many enjoyed to follow. "Structure is fine." Ruby had told her one day as they discussed their options after high school. "What do you do beyond it though?"

A deep sigh escaped her lips without notice, catching the attention of those nearby and turning her into the criminal who had broken through the silence. She apologised with a single gesture, her heart feeling as though it would burst from her chest. For a moment she considered taking a few, her fingertips not so far from clasping one in between them, but she couldn't.

Instead she moved towards the train station, dragging her suitcase behind her and scrolling down the website called World Rooftop. The countries, the posts, the warnings, the offers, the recommendations. They all made her wish she could stop in her tracks, turn around and return home. It frightened her to move another step so she stopped at the nearest bench, holding her phone and wondering if there was anything else she could do.

Her mother called her. "Can you do me a favour?"

Rykar sighed, looking at the moon floating above her head and the stars flowing through the sky. "Sure." She eventually exhaled the word, feeling as though all the energy of her body was slowly leaving her. "No. Depends. What do I have to do?"

"Are you regretting it already?"

"When have I not?" Rykar sighed. She began to wonder if from then on her speech would always be in the form of a sigh. "What's the favour?"

"It'll be your father's birthday soon."

Immediately she knew what her mother was trying to do. "I suppose." She replied, well aware that her father's birthday was nowhere near. In fact, they had celebrated it the week before. "What about it?"

"It will also be your grandfather's birthday. Before you think of returning home, at least grant them a visit." Her mother's call had her sister's in the background, fighting over something but it wasn't exactly easy for her to tell exactly what. "Go. Travel. Find yourself. Fall in love."

"Everyone's so quick to kick me out." Rykar laughed as she spoke. "Even I am."

"Rykar." Her mother said gently.

"I'll fall in love and I'll go meet dad and grandfather." Rykar interrupted, not feeling the energy to continue the discussion but realising the time. Made all too obvious to her by the sudden ringing of the bell marking the arrival for midnight. She stood up, stretching her free arm and embracing the moon with her gaze. "I'm not regretting this. I'm going to really, really love this. It'll be fun."

"Of course it will and if it isn't-"

"I know." Rykar muttered. "I know. Thank you."

She hung up before her mother was able to tell her that the star shone brightly when they heard of Rykar and that she was worth more than a thousand different planets put together. In a way it wasn't absolutely necessary for her to listen to those words. They had been said to her a thousand times since the day of her birth and would be said a thousand times, and more, until the moment of her death.

The train station was crowded. Men, women, teenagers, and children. You couldn't move without bumping shoulders with someone. Rykar's hand held onto the suitcase with care, wary of thieves passing by. She moved quickly, every footstep of hers chased by the other. Avoiding those who found it reasonable to stop in the middle of the crowd and hold a conversation, keeping her luggage close to her until she made it onto the train.

Bright lights on the inside made it as though the day had arrived earlier than usual. Those inside were divided into two groups, those who had settled in their seats and those struggling to place their luggage somewhere where it wouldn't get in the way of other's or potentially stolen. Not that theft was common at trains but the myths of years before had poisoned through time.

Rykar joined the first group of people as soon as she found her seat, placing her backpack on the seat next to her own and to the window, her luggage crammed in between her seats and the ones in front of her. She thanked her sister in thought for having thought ahead and bought the seat next to her own.

Slowly they all began to settle down. Silence crept through the train. Those who felt like falling asleep placed headphones over their heads or wore earplugs. A few spoke underneath their breath to those they were travelling with or into their phones, some simply spoke because they could and it was nobody's business to determine if they were mad or merely speaking with someone or something no one else could see.

In order to settle her heart Rykar covered herself with her jacket, resting her head against her backpack and hoping to fall asleep. At that hour she would usually be at school in her 'In the Groove: Music during the Rise and Fall of the Evil King' class, not actually taking any notes and merely counting the minutes as they went by. First by sets of twenty, then ten, then five, then one. Even so, she missed her teacher's voice and the clicking of pens against the desk.

Her hand reached for the window, pulling down the curtain in order to find something else to display across the window. Eventually she settled on a scenery that reminded her of the one she had at home. That of woods in the distance, the sun not at all present in a dark cloudy sky but the world still a warm colour. In between her fingers she held her passport, uncertain whether to smile or not at the sight of it. The picture on the card was one that she could sort of laugh at. It could've been funnier.