Have any of you ever seen those things before? Trails of arrows drawn on the pavement in white chalk? I see them
all the fucking time. Who draws these things? Why do they do it? What pot of gold lies at the end of these mysterious white rainbows?
It might seem like a strange thing to start a post over, but I've seen those mysterious trails for years. Like, you're walking along the footpath, and shit! There's a chalk arrow in front of you saying 'go forward'. So you think nothing of it and keep walking and two minutes later lo! there's another one. 'This can't be a coincidence' you think to yourself, 'this must be a trail indeed. I wonder where it leads'. I WONDER WHERE IT FUCKING LEADS
Last night I was at the University of Sydney when I saw one of those fucking arrows. I decided to settle the matter once and for all. Check out my route, I started from the great hall of the university, at 7pm.
The first thing I noticed was that if I followed the arrows forward I wound up outside the museum next to a circled five, with no other arrows in sight. Fuck that. I followed the arrows backwards with my leet skills.
They let me down university ave and out to Victoria Park, where after a hard turn to the right I was reverse-led to a totem pole .. with a chalk circled four next to it. At this point I was thinking that it must be some sort of scavenger hunt or game with the finish line at five or something. (!!!!!)
I followed the arrows across city rd and back into the uni. I lost the trail just after a circled three (outside an old church) !!!! I spent half an hour looking for the next arrow but to no avail. It was dark, and I was working in reverse. Alas :cry:I gave up and started heading back to my car.
I'd just crossed city rd and was walking down eastern ave when lo! I saw another arrow!! I'd picked up the trail again!! But it was weird, really weird, because the arrows were pointing the same way I was going ie. they were forwards, when I would have expected them to be still in reverse. Nonetheless I put those concerns to one side and pressed onwards with remewed vigour.
The restored arrows led me back to the main quad, then the physics building, and St. Paul's college. This college is the source of all shennanigans at the university. Every pair of panties raised on flagpoles has been done so by a St Pauls lad. I know this because somebody who knows someone who's brother goes there told me so. So I was thinking, maybe these arrows are some sort of St Pauls initiation ritual, conveniently ignoring the mysterious reversal of arrow direction, and the fact that St Pauls couldn't be the source of all arrow trails in sydney.
But the arrows kept going .. out of St Pauls, out of the uni, and on to King St. I was heading to Newtown!!
Cool.
(Newtown is the source of all Sydney's awesome)
As I was walking down King St I noticed something perculiar. The arrows became two headed!!!! There was a head pointing backwards, and a larger head pointing forwards. Hmm. Also, on more than one occasion I passed TWO arrows, pointing in different directions,
and one was crossed out!!! What does this mean?? Obviously that the route the arrows take is not pre planned! and that somebody was improvising and making the route up as he went along.
So I continue forwards and it seems the guy that drew the forward larger arrowheads had all but given up. Almost all the arrows I was passing were in reverse. I had no idea what this meant, but I figured if I followed those arrows I'd eventually get to the beginning, and claim my prize. There had to be sex involved, I knew it. One doesn't draw arrows on the ground unless one is a hot chick looking for some fun times with those that have the determination to reach the beginning of the arrow trail!!!
Then horrors!! The arrows took me off King St and into the spooky laneways of inner Newtown. I was so scared because it was dark and I didn't bring my torch with me. Nevertheless I am so brave I pressed on even though it was hard to see arrows chalk or otherwise. I was led into a park, and an obelisk. Next to the obelisk was .. a chalk circled two.
HALLELUJAH! All my doubts, all my questions as to the breaking of the trail and the directional reversals, vanished at that point. I was back on the trail baby!!! FORWARD TO NUMBER 1!! FORWARD TO VICTORY!!!
I continued to follow the arrows, in reverse, through the icky laneways near the railway line. Once I thought I had reached the end of the line, it took me ten minutes to find the next arrow. It was so bad in those laneways, I could have been robbed or killed and I wouldn't be standing here telling you this now! It was dark but I was brave and continued on. The arrows led me to Erskineville station.
And right next to the station .. outside the Empire Hotel (I think that's what it's called) .. right at it's door .. was a circled number ONE.
VICTORY!!!
I was about to go in and claim my prize of hot chicks and cold beer, when I saw it. From the corner of my eye. Another fucking arrow. POINTING TOWARDS THE ONE. Of course, I had failed to realise that if this was a 'scavanger hunt' type game, number one wouldn't be the starting line, it would be merely the first waypoint. So I summoned from within extra reserves of awesome skills, and charged forwards.
If Newtown's back streets were bad, Erskineville's were much worse. They were dark and dinky and full of bad people, and the arrows were getting further and further apart. I lost the trail three times in there, only to pick it up again after a few minutes lateral thinking. It was nine oclock and I knew that was the time favoured by robbers and rapists.
I was led through laneways, a park, a basketball court ... and then I reached it. THE END. THE LAST (FIRST?) ARROW. On the map, I've represented it by a red X. What was it Nick? What was your reward? Did you get a trophy or a prize or hot sex?
The last arrow was on the footpath in front of a house. There were no other arrows after it, and I followed the road for 10 minutes. The people in the house knew nothing about it. That's it. The end. No fucking reward, no hot sex, not even a welcoming committee with a piece of cake. Just one arrow on the ground, and a pissed off dude who was bonking his wife when I banged his door. Fuck. FUCK. WHAT A FUCKING RIP OFF!!! That's it, no payoff, nothing. Not even the knowledge that I'd solved the mystery of the white arrows, because I hadn't! I still don't know who draws the fucking things, why he does so, what the god damn payoff is, nothing!!! What about those changes in direction?? What about the numbers?? Someone somewhere must have laid them down for a reason!!! ITS KILLING ME!!!!
Well, as all that was going through my head, I recalled that I had a piece of white chalk in my pocket (picked it up in the uni, don't ask....). So, right next to the last arrow, I left a message.
"NICK TRACED THESE ARROWS ALL THE WAY FROM SYDNEY UNI 13/9/06
CALL ME FOR A ROOT CHICKS 0402 624 ***" (I didn't use stars on the real message, I just don't trust you jerks)
So far I've received two death threats, but no explanations, and no offers of sex.
IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA AS TO THE ORIGIN OF THESE WHITE ARROWS PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME
