Purple Ivory

Purple Ivory
Written by Matt Walker
A story once told to me from another now forgotten.

On the way to the bus stop a boy saw in a neighbor’s yard a sign that read in large simple print, “Purple Ivory.” The boy passed the sign and stopped suddenly realizing he had no idea what the sign meant. He stared at the sign for a short while and without a solution he continued to the bus stop to wait for his morning ride to school.
Already waiting at the bus stop was the girl the boy had had a crush on for some time now. They said their hellos and chatted for awhile before the bus showed up. Just as the bus stopped the boy asked the girl about the sign he had seen earlier. He said, “I saw this sign earlier and I have no idea what it meant.”
“What did the sign say?” asked the girl.
“Purple Ivory.”

The bus doors opened and without warning she burst into tears and ran onto the bus screaming. Completely stunned the boy stood there before the open doors of the bus. The bus driver looked back at the still hysteric girl than looked down at the boy and ask what had happen. The boy snapped to attention and climbed onto the bus just as it was starting to rain. The bus driver stopped the boy at the top step and asked, “What happened?”
“I was walking to school and saw this sign and didn’t know what it meant. So I asked her about it and she freaked out then ran onto the bus.”
“What did the sign say?” asked the bus driver.
“Purple Ivory.”

The bus driver turned in his seat, lifted his leg and kicked the boy to the sidewalk. The boy landed in a puddle as the bus doors closed and the bus sped away. The rain was starting to get worse when the boy got up from the puddle and began walking to school. He arrived to class dripping wet when his teacher stopped him. “What happened?”
“I was walking to school and saw this sign and didn’t know what it meant. So I asked this girl about it and she freaked out then ran onto the bus. The bus driver asked me what had happen then he kicked me out of the bus and I had to walk to school in the rain.”
“What did the sign say?” asked the teacher.
“Purple Ivory.”

The students in class gasped and the teacher escorted the boy to the principal’s office. The teacher sat the boy down in a chair in main office and talked with the staff. The boy received many glances of disapproval from staff while waiting outside the office for the principal. He was still soaked when he walked into the office and was offered a towel by the principal to drive off with. “What happened?”
“I was walking to school and saw this sign and didn’t know what it meant. So I asked this girl about it and she freaked out then ran onto the bus. The bus driver asked me what had happen then he kicked me out of the bus and I had to walk to school in the rain. I arrived to class late soaking wet and when I told the teacher what had happen she brought me here.”
“What did the sign say?” asked the principal.
“Purple Ivory.”

The principal reached for the phone and spoke quickly into the receiver. Moments latter a security officer pulled the boy from office as the principal said he was expelled and would not be allowed to return. The security officer threw the boy out of the front doors of the school. It was raining harder as the boy made his way back home. The boy’s mother was in the kitchen as he walked in though the back door. “What happened?”
“I was walking to school and saw this sign and didn’t know what it meant. So I asked this girl about it and she freaked out then ran onto the bus. The bus driver asked me what had happen then he kicked me out of the bus and I had to walk to school in the rain. I arrived to class late soaking wet and when I told the teacher what had happen she took me to the principal’s office. The principal expelled me from school after learning what happen.”
“What did the sign say?” asked the boy’s mother.
“Purple Ivory.”

The boy’s mother dropped the freshly backed cookies she just pulled from the oven and began to sob uncontrollably. All she could do was point upstairs and the boy knew he would have to wait for his father to come home. The boy’s father was concerned as he entered the boy’s room. “What happened?”
“I was walking to school and saw this sign and didn’t know what it meant. So I asked this girl about it and she freaked out then ran onto the bus. The bus driver asked me what had happen then he kicked me out of the bus and I had to walk to school in the rain. I arrived to class late soaking wet and when I told the teacher what had happen she took me to the principal’s office. The principal expelled me from school after learning what happen. I walked back home in the rain and explained things to mom and she sent me up here.”
“What did the sign say?” asked the boy’s father.
“Purple Ivory.”

The boy’s father walked slowly up to his son and grabbed him by the shirt collar pulling the boy out of the house. The boy was tossed into the front lawn as his father shut the door and locked it behind him. Two weeks passed before a priest found the boy sleeping behind some boxes behind the church. The boy was malnourished and obviously hadn’t showered in a while as he sat up. The man went inside and brought out a glass of water and a bite to eat. “What happened?”
“I was walking to school two weeks ago and saw this sign and didn’t know what it meant. So I asked this girl about it and she freaked out then ran onto the bus. The bus driver asked me what had happen then he kicked me out of the bus and I had to walk to school in the rain. I arrived to class late soaking wet and when I told the teacher what had happen she took me to the principal’s office. The principal expelled me from school after learning what happen. I walked back home in the rain and explained things to mom and she sent me to my room. I then told my father and he kicked me out of the house.”
“What did the sign say?” asked the priest. The boy hesitated for a moment in telling the priest.
“Purple Ivory.”

The priest walked back inside the church and returned with a shotgun. The boy ran down the alley dodging shots and could hear the priest yelling versus behind him. 20 years went by and the boy had grown into a man surviving on handouts and moving from one shelter to another. After receiving a generous tip from washing a car window at a stop light the man walked into a local pub. The man sat at the bar and ordered a drink. Just before the drink arrived an elderly, out of work and over made-up prostitute sat down next to him. “Hi, Hun,” said the old whore as she took a puff on her cigarette, “You look like you’ve got a story to tell.”
The bartender set the drink in front of the man and took his money. “Lady, I just want to drink this in peace and be left alone.” He reached for the glass and took a sip of his beer.
“No,” said the old whore, “I think you have a hell of a story to tell.”
“Not mine. It brings nothing but trouble every time I tell it so I won’t be telling it to you.” The man took a drink of his beer.
“Come on. It can’t be all that bad.”
“No.”
The man than through back the last of his beer and stood from the bar stool. The old whore stopped the man from leaving and reached into her open shirt and pulled some cash from her sagging bra. “How ‘bout for another pint.”
The man paused for a moment than took the money and sat back down on the stool. The bartender filled another glass and took the man’s money again. The man took a sip and sighed as the old whore sat down next to him once again. “You give me the whole story and I’ll make sure that glass doesn’t empties. Now, what happened?”
“I was walking to school 20 years weeks ago and saw this sign and didn’t know what it meant. So I asked this girl about it and she freaked out then ran onto the bus. The bus driver asked me what had happen then he kicked me out of the bus and I had to walk to school in the rain. I arrived to class late soaking wet and when I told the teacher what had happen she took me to the principal’s office. The principal expelled me from school after learning what happen. I walked back home in the rain and explained things to mom and she sent me to my room. I then told my father and he kicked me out of the house. Two weeks went by and a priest found me sleeping behind his church and after listening to my story he shot at me with a shotgun. A month later I had changed towns when-”
“Hold on,” interrupted the old whore. “What did the sign say?”
“I’m not telling you ‘cause that will just bring trouble again.” The man looked up at the bartender standing close by listening in as he wiped down a glass. The bartender moved to the far end of the bar after the old whore shot him a glance.
The old whore leaned in closer to the man and said, “Hun, I’ve seen more things in my life that I would rather forget than you ever will. I might be able to help you out. What did the sign say?” The man sighed and finished the last of his third beer. He looked around the bar and leaned in close to the old whore.
“Purple Ivory.”

The old whore smiled as she slapped the man on the back and started to laugh. “That’s it? That’s what you were afraid of telling me?”
“Damn it lady, tell me what it means!”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you but first you have to do me a quick favor.”
“Lady, after twenty years I’m willing to do anything. I mean anything!”
“Relax,” she laughed. She reached into her bra again and pulled out a dollar. “Take this and run across the street to the store there and by me some more smokes.” The man grabbed the money out of her hand and ran across the street to buy the cigarettes. On his way back across the street the man was hit by a bus and killed.

The lesson in this story is that cigarettes can kill you.