The Blue Octopus

I was on a business trip to Thailand, due to a request of meeting face-to-face from one of our company’s potential clients. I work for a company in the U.S. that I shall leave unnamed, and I was there to ensure his demands were met, and the contract signed. After much laborious talks the deal was signed, which meant my job there was done, and I could head home. However, instead of getting the next flight out, I opted for the one leaving early next morning, so I could take the rest of the day I had left and enjoy the city and what it had to offer, something I didn’t have much chance to do during the previous couple of days that I’ve spent here.

I took a barefoot stroll along the sandy Nai Yang beach, and watched the sun set over the sea, before I headed elsewhere.
I found my way to one of the nearby restaurants, and seated myself. Since I wasn’t the biggest fan of seafood, I decided for Chicken Massan Curry. It was very tasty, and not particularly spicy for a curry, something I had no objection against. After the dinner I walked around and found myself at Bangla Road; there were surprisingly a lot of people for that time of day. I ended up in one of the bars having a drink or two and watching a group of gorgeous, what turned out to be ladyboys, perform, then cheered and clapped along with the smitten locals once the show was done.

Thailand was a wonderful place to visit, the locals were friendly, the sights amazing, and the entertainment surprisingly fun. I only wished I could have stayed a bit longer. It was 11 o’clock when I headed back to the hotel, which meant there was enough time for me to catch some sleep and wake up for the 6 am flight the following morning. I was walking along an empty street, and as I passed by an alleyway, I happened to look towards it and catch a glimpse of something unexpected. With another step, it was gone.

“Could that be…?” I wondered as I came to a stop, though I knew it was more likely I saw something else, or had a drink too many. I took a step back and another, until I was almost standing at the corner of the building, and that’s when I saw it again – a flashing sign of a blue octopus above a storefront, on the street across the dark alleyway. I made my way around the block, and smiled when I finally stood in front of the building; there was no doubt about it – it was The Blue Octopus!

Now, you may wonder what could a place, in a town where I’ve never been before, have to do with me? But my connection with The Blue Octopus goes all the way back to my college days.

…

Rachel and me were in our dorm room, on our beds, and our friend Natalie was with us. We’ve had a bit to drink, and we were considering ordering some Chinese food.

“The Blue Octopus,” Natalie said.

“Ugh, that sounds gross,” Rachel said. “What does it taste like?”

Natalie giggled. “It’s not a dish,” she said, “but talking about Chinese food made me remember. It’s a massage parlor I’ve been to a while back.”

“Eww, really? What kind of a person names their massage parlor ‘The Blue Octopus’? It sounds like a place you’d go to if you wanted to get groped a lot,” Rachel said, and I laughed.

She looked at Rachel, then at me. “You can laugh all you want,” she said, “but it was, hands down, the best massage of my life. It was literally out of this world.”

“You’re serious?” I said in disbelief.

“She’s not,” Rachel said. “There’s no way a place like that could even have a qualified masseuse, much less one that could give you a massage that good.”

“Then why don’t you come with me next time?” Natalie asked.

“I’d rather skip all the fondling and the groping, thank you,” Rachel said.

“Suit yourself. Molly?” Natalie said as she looked at me.

“Umm, sure,” I responded, “as long there’s no groping or fondling going on.”

“Oh, shush,” Natalie said. “How about next week?”

“That sounds good,” I said, and we left it at that.

When the weekend came, we took the bus to get all the way across town, then walked on foot through several streets and alleys, before we got to the part of the town that was recently rebuilt. We walked around for a minute, before I asked, “Where is it?”

We came to a stop in front of an empty building, and Natalie looked around. “It was here,” she said, then shrugged. “I guess they moved.”

I probably wouldn’t have thought about it again, if the same thing didn’t happen several months later, back in my hometown. One of my childhood friends brought it up, how she heard about it, and wanted us to go together since we haven’t seen each other in months, and I agreed. Yet, when we arrived at the address, the place was empty. She was confused just as much as me – she claimed she heard about it two days back, and even had a coupon. Places usually don’t disappear overnight, do they? Well, c’ est la vie I thought, and we went elsewhere. The last time was several years back. It was my friend’s birthday, and another friend of hers decided to surprise her with a trip to The Blue Octopus, the wonderful massage parlor she heard about. We came with her, only to end up spending 10 minutes in front of an empty building. It was baffling, and at times it felt like someone was playing a joke on me that was years in the making – I was expecting someone to jump out, laugh, and say, “I’ve got you! The Blue Octopus doesn’t exist; did you really think someone would name their massage parlor like that?”

But that didn’t happen. It piqued my interest enough for me to decide and find out more about it as soon I had a chance. However, for the time being, we went to a nearby spa and had a good time – especially the birthday girl. Once I got home that night, I looked up The Blue Octopus on the Internet; the best possible tool for the task.

Yet… nada, zilch, or simply said, nothing. What little information I have managed to find, wasn’t particularly helpful. But, there was this one person, a woman that reviewed it on her blog, ‘spoiler free’ as she wrote, whatever that meant. She claimed it was a magical, once in a lifetime experience that everyone should get to experience. She gave it 10 stars, and described it as fulfilling in every possible way. I was naturally skeptical, especially since it was some kind of a paranormal blog, but I contracted her through her email address, and asked her to tell me more about it and how I could find it – as well as mentioning that every time I heard about it, and went to its address, the place was gone. She responded eventually. This was her response:

“Dear Molly, I’m saddened to hear about your experiences with The Blue Octopus (or lack thereof) so far. However, I’m not surprised. The key factor when looking for The Blue Octopus is to keep your mind open, since an average, prejudiced person would surely run out screaming (or crawling, depending on the person). People tend to be scared of the unknown and unfamiliar, and while it’s a natural response, it’s also counterproductive. But, as long you keep an open mind, I’m sure you’ll find it – or shall I say, it will let you find it (laugh).

Best regards,

Alice.”

Yes. And if you tap your foot three times by the tree behind your house, a secret passage will open up, leading to a room full of treasure! I must have read her reply a dozen times. I’m not sure what I was expecting, to be honest; perhaps some info about it, someone I could call, or something along those lines, but I would have settled for something that at least made sense. I kept looking for The Blue Octopus for a while after, but ultimately I gave up and it became a weird, distant memory.

Until now.

There was light inside, and it appeared to be open. I opened the door and–

It was nothing like I expected it to be. As soon I entered, a wave of hot air hit me in the face, followed by some weird kind of smell. I couldn’t tell what it was. The floor looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in days, and blue paint was peeling off the walls.