Olivia had always wanted to spend the winter in Toronto. She was thrilled about the prospect of seeing the city covered in snow, strolling through its colourful streets, and breathing in the clean Canadian air. But when she arrived at Pearson International Airport, she had no idea how much of an experience she would be in. Her very first obstacle? Navigating the Toronto airport taxi fare map during one of the coldest nights of the year.
An Arrival in the Frost
Olivia felt a rush of icy air as she walked into the terminal after getting off the plane. Wearing a stylish but dreadfully insufficient coat, she trembled and pulled her scarf tighter around her face. She was completely unprepared for the harsh Canadian winter, having grown up in sunny California.
Finding a way to get to her Airbnb in downtown Toronto was her first priority. After reading about public transportation alternatives, she concluded that a cab would be her best option because of her heavy luggage and fatigue from the lengthy travel.
She walked up to the taxi stop, where a queue of shivering passengers waited for her. The official airport taxi fare zones were shown on a huge, laminated map that was affixed to a stand. Olivia tried to understand the fares and zones as she gazed at the complex network of locations. She had to rely only on the map because her fingers were too numb to check a fare calculator on her phone.
The Enigma of the Fare Map
Olivia sensed something odd when she looked at the map. When she squinted at the labels, some of them looked almost blurred, as if the ink had frozen over, and some of the numbers seemed to move. Persuaded that her fatigue was deceiving her, she shook her head and massaged her eyes.
Suddenly, an old man wearing a fur-lined hat and a large coat appeared next to her.
He laughed and replied, “Confusing, isn’t it?” at that.
Olivia smiled sheepishly at him. “Yes. I just need to travel downtown, but I’m having trouble figuring out how much it will cost.
The man leaned closer to the map and gave a knowing nod. “Well, exercise caution. This map is said to have an independent mind.
Olivia’s eyebrow went up. “A mind of its own?”
With naughty flashing eyes, he nodded once again. As you can see, visitors have complained that the map’s numbers fluctuate. Additionally, the paths occasionally appear to change—as though the city is moving in response to the cold.”
She gave a tense laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”
However, her destination—downtown Toronto—had shifted from Zone 3 to Zone 6 as soon as she looked at the map again, almost tripling the fee.
An Ice and Time Taxi Journey
Olivia quickly took note of the fare and got into the next taxi, blaming it on jet lag. Thankful for the warmth in the car, she sat down in the backseat and informed the driver of her destination. Snow started to fall harder as they left the airport, creating a thick layer of white on the windscreen.
The middle-aged, thickly accented motorist adjusted his rearview mirror. “You new to Toronto?”
“First time here,” Olivia acknowledged. “Didn’t expect it to be this cold.”
The driver laughed. “Canada’s winters are serious business. However, Toronto is a fantastic city. Lots of history.
For a while, they drove in quiet, the icy roads glowing golden from the streetlights. Olivia then became aware of something strange. Three times in a row, the taxi passed the same billboard for a nearby diner.
She scowled. “Uh, I think we’ve gone in a circle.”
The motorist murmured something under his breath while glancing at the road. “That’s odd. By now, we ought to have arrived downtown.
Outside, the snow grew deeper, transforming into a spooky veil of frost that made it difficult to see. The GPS displayed illogical coordinates before flickering and then resetting.
The driver remarked, “Something’s not right,” as he tightened his hold on the wheel.
A shiver went up Olivia’s spine. “You don’t think… the fare map really changed the city, do you?”
The driver paused, then answered. “I’ve been told tales. About cold evenings when time turns back on itself and the routes change.”
In a frozen maze and lost
Olivia checked her phone in a panic, but there was no signal. The cab passed through a section of Toronto that was unknown and didn’t appear to be on any maps. The streetlamps danced in the wind like candle flames, and the buildings appeared old—older than they should have been. The streets were a frozen maze that repeated indefinitely.
Then all of a sudden the old airport man was on the pavement, waving them down. Olivia’s heart raced when the driver applied the brakes hard.
“You again?!” she exclaimed as she rolled down the sill.
The man smiled knowingly and leaned forward. The map had a mind of its own, I told you. Don’t worry, though. There is a way to return.
Olivia asked sharply, “How?”
He took an ancient, tattered piece of paper out of his coat. It looked like an old-fashioned taxi fare map of Toronto, but it only showed one route back to downtown, and that was in bright red.
He said, “Follow this,” to the driver. “No matter what you see, don’t take any other road.”
With resolve in his eyes, the driver nodded after accepting the map. He turned abruptly and took the red-marked path. Their surroundings appeared to be warped; the historic structures deteriorated, the snowfall subsided, and in a matter of seconds, they found themselves back on the well-known highway that led directly into downtown Toronto.
In the end
Still digesting what had transpired, Olivia let out a long breath as they pulled up to her Airbnb. After giving the driver the fare, she turned to express her gratitude for accompanying her on the peculiar excursion.
His words, “You were lucky tonight,” “Not everyone finds their way back.”
The thought made Olivia tremble, and she got out of the taxi as the cold air struck her once more. She saw the old man across the street tipping his hat before disappearing into the icy night before she could turn to face her building.
Olivia made the decision that evening that she would never again look at a taxi fare map in the same manner. She couldn’t stop wondering as she fell asleep: how many other passengers had been stuck in transit, lost in Toronto’s enigmatic winter roads?
The Pearson Toronto Airport Limousine and Taxi Services
Address: 3 Lockwood Rd, Brampton, ON L6Y 4S6
Phone: (647) 689-6088
Province: Ontario
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