Echo Boom

February 23, 2018April 7, 2018 ~ Piece, of the Sky

conceptual construct

The waves were crashing against the shore, with incessant ferocity. The night was colder than the last. That morning, Alli had used the eggs to make omelets, and surprise Xen with breakfast in bed. Yet, here she was, out at night again. She sat on the steps of the cabana, watching the breakers roll in, before getting off the stoop and walking down the beach, in the direction of Mallo’s Mini-Mart.

The dull cacophony of the sea barely registered in her mind anymore. Her brain edited the white noise out. Instead, she focused on the sounds coming from the underbrush: the croaking of frogs, the whine of crickets, constant rustling. The jungle never settled at night.

The moon was making its quiet ascent. The clouds floated out to open water. The lights of the mini-mart twinkled in the distance, opaque orbs of light in the night’s gloom.

She passed the hustle and bustle of the midnight supermarket, with its cluster of clubs jutting out behind it. She could smell a late-night barbecue going. Constant fires in the darkness.

The store disappeared behind her. Ahead of her, the cliffs, limestone, cut open by the ocean, loomed in the distance. The tides would roar through the holes, creating a wind tunnel howl of noise. A fishing boat had crashed, out that way. The boat’s wooden frame clung to the lip of the islet, its hull torn apart on a sandbar. The ship had knelt there ever since, reclaimed by phantom mermaids and kelp.

The sight of a fire made her jump. A figure hunched over a collection of logs. With a start, she realized it was the lionesque, fiery red-head from yesterday. Just at that moment, Ran decided to look up. Their eyes locked, and the other woman noticed her.

Alli sucked in her chest and strode toward her. Ran’s eyes crinkled at the corners, when she smiled.

With a sigh, Alli sat down on the sand, facing in the direction of the surf, with Ran. Alli saw that Ran had a small, handheld cooler and some shish kebobs roasting on a grill over the fire. “Do you come out here often?” she asked.

“No, this is the second time I’ve done this,” Ran said.

“Seems peaceful,” Alli said, looking back at the waves.

“Have you been out to the haunted ship?” Ran asked, with her trademark wolf-like grin.

“No,” Alli said, “I heard you can get sucked out to sea in those tunnels.”

“Not if you go at low tide,” Ran said, raising her eyebrows, “There’s a whole underwater cave system out there too.”

“Do you like caves?” Alli wondered.

“Yes,” Ran said, “I love spelunking, and I’ve gone scuba diving underground.”

“You know, they have urban spelunking tours out where I live,” Alli said, “You could explore condemned buildings and the sewers. Abandoned subway stations.”

“That sounds great!” Ran said, “But promise me you will go with me to see the ship.”

Alli laughed, “Are you sure you want to go? There might be all sorts of metal ribs poking out and sharp wooden planks waiting to impale you.”

“I promise, I won’t let you get impaled,” Ran said, nudging the fire with a stick.

Alli smirked and they went back to watching the waves crash and cascade endlessly.

When the shish kebobs were finished cooking, Ran offered Alli one and they ate in silence, watching the night clouds go by. Nocturnal birds called to one another across the treetops.

Alli got up, brushing the grease off her hands, “Well, this was nice. I should be going though.”

“Should you?” Ran narrowed her eyes.

Alli grinned, “You have no idea of the competition you’re up against.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Ran said, curling her toes in the sand.

“You’re incredible!’ Alli said, shaking her head.

Ran leaned forward, against her knees, “Come see the ghost ship tomorrow.”

“What if I am occupied elsewhere?” Alli asked.

“You won’t be,” Ran said, digging in the sand with the stick, “Didn’t you have a feeling I might be out here?”

“The spirit moves in mysterious ways,” Alli shrugged.

Ran gave a half-smile, with one corner of her lips, “See you tomorrow.”

“Unbelievable,” Alli said. But she turned and left. Ran watched her walk back down the shore, a tiny figure moving alongside churning, immeasurable depths.

welcome to the future

The Navel of the World

February 21, 2018April 10, 2018 ~ Piece, of the Sky

kirby

The moon reflected off the lake, creating a specter of double light. Alli turned around and watched ripples float away from the opposite shore. In one hand, she held a cast-iron pot full of water, collected from the pump down the hill.

Even at night, the entire woods exhaled. Alli breathed in the sharp, minty smell of pine needles. Acorns lay underfoot. Clouds scraped the sky, silently passing each other in the night.

Alli let the cool air fall over her, like a blanket. She hiked through the dull-colored underbrush back up to the cabin. Candlelight was visible through the windows. She walked up the steps and brushed off her shoes on the welcome mat. Inside, Xen was feeding the fire in the stove with twigs.

The pot of water went on the stove and Alli sat down on the lower bunk bed, to better pull off her all-terrain boots. Kaan lit the large myrrh and frankincense candle on a wrought-iron candlestick, and they all gathered around, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Xen got up and extinguished all the other candles in the cabin. She also took a piece of chalk out of her sweater pocket and drew a circle around them. The three of them crossed their arms also and held hands around the circle.

Alli inhaled the incense. The cabin fell away bit by bit. She felt freezing air on the nape of her neck. She was in a heavy parka, with a fur-trimmed hood, and wore Inuit snow goggles to block out the glare of the midnight sun. Walking on the ice floe, in a white suit and pants, was Aro.

“Is your Inner Space always cold like this?” Alli asked, clapping her gloved hands together to generate heat.

“No,” said Aro, “I am speaking to Kaan at our old seaside cabana. I am speaking to Xen in a Starbucks.”

“Lucky them,” Alli laughed.

They watched the plates of ice, shift and crack over the water. The barren bricolage stretched into the distance.

“What should I do?” Alli asked. Her voice came out as a whisper, nearly a soundless puff of condensation.

“Do you like Xen?” Aro asked. The wind swirled around, picking up snow, that was merely frozen dust.

“Of course!” Alli exclaimed, but her heart sunk a little lower.

“You’re holding back,” Aro said. She snapped her fingers, and they were standing in a sea of stars, that continued forever. Above them, the constellations winked in the heavens.

“I can’t shake this feeling that I’m making a mistake,” Alli murmured.

A green light appeared, twinkling on the horizon. It drew closer, as the waves passed their ankles, until a barrel of green fire was right in front of them.

Aro turned to her, “Do you even know what you are giving up?”

Alli’s eyes widened. She shook her head, “No.”

Aro turned back to the fire; it seemed to leap higher with every second. With an inhuman jump, she carried herself into the flame. Her shell disintegrated into flying embers, and only an ever larger, growing afterimage of smoke was left.

Aro, now also made of green flame, with an aura at least ten feet high, spoke to Alli from the sky, “A tulpa is on your back. Its feet are around your torso, and like a monkey, its hands are grasping your head. You must let go of this thing that you are carrying around.”

Alli looked down from Aro, to the barrel of green flame which she had risen from, like a djinn set free from a thousand-year slumber.

She took a running leap and cleared the lip of the barrel with ease. She jumped into a blinding, white light.

Alli awoke in the darkened cabin. The incense candle had burned down and gone out, leaving a twisted wick. The other two were asleep, heads tucked into their chests. Everyone was still holding hands.

She let go and stood up, stretching her legs. The others slumbered on. Alli left the circle and re-lit one of the candles in the window. In the gloom, beyond the reflected orb of candlelight, Alli thought, for a moment, that she could see Nealy’s face.

U F O