Blood Orange

Ebony prepares a thirty-three gallon vessel of whole homogenized milk; Nadia lifts me inside her arms, we walk twenty-two steps, she sets me upon a chair.

"Why am I here?"

"....you're mine Thyst."

"Okay."

"They want you to bathe in milk."

"....oh."

"............"

"Why so quiet?"

"I dreamt you were talking about me to someone..."

"What did I say?"

"You said I carried you around...you said my hair was brown and straight...you were very careful with your words..."

"...who were they?"

"Somebody who hides..."

"Hides what?"

".......I'm not sure babe."

"What if I have babes?"

"You're still my babe. Here comes Ebony."

"Where you going?"

"I'm going to get some coconuts to drink. I'm hungry but lately I don't want to eat."

".....you well get small!"

"...maybe so."

"I'll eat the meat."

"The coconut stuff?"

"Yeah..."

"You will get big!"

"Yeah..."

"Is that what you want?"

"....Nadia who were they?"

"I heard you say mysterious things...they are smarter than you think...let it go. Shan't worry about it now.."

"I do worry now!"

"Worry later. Do not worry for now."

"I worry for later!"

"...bathe babe."

Liquid chalk is vanity, the mirror is woe, reflection evades identity, I am searching for my ghost; cool beginning, warm between my toes.

"I want you to look like this forever..."

"You want me to be just like this always?"

"...yes."

"......I kind of was hoping to be taller and uh...you know I like Zen right?"

"Which one are you again?"

"I'm the chocolate kid."

"The goat?"

"Yes."

"Oh...you're my baby too."

"I am?"

"Yeah but you're his twin...just not exactly the same...tis hard to explain."

".....you're a mocha coffee."

"That's what they call me."

"......."

"What's wrong?"

"There's a clock."

"Five hours boy."

"What?"

"Put your head in there a little more."

I contemplate notches, hands, numbers, and sand.

"It's like a movie Sunny."

"Will I ever come out of the zone?"

"....she calls somebody..."

"What?"

"You're a ghost."

"Like the milk bath..."

"Momma I had a dream about talking Korean."

"You spoke Korean?"

"Yeah....Lucid said it was something I needed to remember...at least understand."

"Yes she did the same for me."

"Does Cordelia?"

"Yes..."

"Dad too?"

"Yes..."

"We all do?"

"Yes."

"It's hard to get."

"I know."

"Why do we need to know?"

"It's the most difficult language in the world."

".....oh."

The port harbors six full mast ships, two representatives, one German Shepherd, myself, and Lucid; she quietly speaks with both men.

"What did you say?"

"...you need to know my child."

"Why?"

"It's the most difficult language in the world."

"...........oh."

"Let's go, I had a dream you talked about me."

"What did I say?"

"....you said I was a small woman."

"Was?"

"I am..."

"What did I look like?"

"I heard you."

"What did I sound like?"

"....a hologram."

Varushna prepares a bowl of creamy avocado for a facial mask; I twirl a string prism between my index fingers.

"...I had a dream you made some...it looked good enough to eat but you didn't."

"Where was I?"

"Somewhere I hated."

"Do you hate it now?"

"More than ever."

"Where were you?"

"...crying about my little girl."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"...."

"I look for you in everything."

"Do you find me?"

"Just a picture."

"Of what?"

"You are reading a book with spectacles upon your face."

"...that's me."

".....it was so strange..."

"Why?"

"Twas futuristic..."

"Huh?"

"....it looked like a house."

"What kind?"

".......one that had sage burned through thrice."

"You're my mum!"

"Uh huh."

"Did you remember me in your dream?"

"Yes but I thought you would be as you are now."

"I wasn't?"

"No...I don't want to think about it. Ebony and I agreed about the milk. Should keep you this way so probably was just some kind of.....it was just a.....damn it."

"Do I put it on my face?"

"And your neck..."

"It's a really cool green color."

"It is."

"...is that why you look like that?"

"Like what?"

".........."

"Hhhmmm..."

"Do you bathe in milk?"

"I did in my dream..."

"For me?"

"For you."

"....who is she?"

"Who?"

"...I saw her inside my head."

"I did too."

".......what will become of us?"

"Extinction."

"Do we come back?"

"Always."

"Always?"

"Always my little hero."

You Know Who holds the door for me, I hug him; we sit together upon a lounge sofa.

"Diesel is ranting..."

"I hear him."

"No no no! She is not eating that! She's on a diet or something...I think the rich people are making her sick or she's just had it with stuffings."

"What?"

"I don't know Sun."

"No no no! She is my kid! She's just....chocolate."

"?"

"!"

"I don't know who that boy is but he's tired of wearing that thing."

"......"

"?"

"Well she just knows what's in your stomach."

"I do know that..."

"Classic Victoria...must of been the island witch doctors..."

"It's from the Fragrance of Memory...he's inside pores and gases...everywhere that guy is everywhere...famous motherfucker I'm telling you!"

"He is one of my dads."

"....what am I?"

"....."

"Thanks..."

"Thanks?"

"Sarcasm Sunny."

"...she's an incidental smart ass."

"You are..."

"I am..."

"Classic Victoria."

"Is that a car?"

".....huh."

".......yeah she likes motorcycles. I taught her how to ride one. Be mad at me for that."

"You do love those things..."

"Classic Diesel."

"No doubt!"

"She needs a pink one! Somebody give her a break."

"I hope it's pink and black."

"....oooooh."

"I want to see her on it. I'm her pop!"

"He is my pop."

"He sure is..."

"......I wouldn't eat that...well maybe...yeah probably would god damn the stomach is an evil woman with a komodo tongue."

"Komodo?"

"Tis devilish speech."

"Oh."

"!"

"What surprised him?"

"Listen..."

".......who let her wear that?"

"Wear what Pop?"

"It's a good name! It's a pop culture influence! Not that son of a bitch!"

"What son of a bitch?"

"Some guy that this swamp mugger keeps talking about!"

"Oh..."

"No more peanuts!"

"What?"

"The zoo?"

"God damn...Sunny...look what you do!"

"What about the zoo Die Die?"

"....god damn bloody horny fucking ugly cows."

"........"

"I don't want to go there."

"...she needs glasses to read and type."

"I don't have glasses in your dream?"

"Some lady controls your body."

"Why?"

"She's trying to understand what it is like to be you and trying to battle your hormonal spurt but she's a stoner, she's kind of out of it, you start pushing her out of the frequency...god damn..."

"The bats?"

"The bats..."

"They don't like her at all."

"She's boring..."

"Boring..."

"Fuck yeah."

"Where are you?"

"....same as me."

"Same as him!"

"Where is that?"

"Some place with spurs."

"God damn!"

"Diesel...I need you now and later."

"Sunny I am trying to remember."

"What do you feel?"

"That I got stuff I need to figure out instead of being an impulsive radio antennae receptor."

"....what happens to me?"

"She's not going to kill herself. Get over it...god damn it's their self assurance for a world coming undone."

"...did you see that guy Diesel?"

"Yeah...he couldn't even look at her."

"Why not?"

".....he can't really look at anybody anymore."

"What happened to him?"

"......he hurt somebody important to her."

"Who?"

"Zyna."

"Shit."

"He's going to kill him."

"Is he really?"

"Figure of speech..."

"Where is Zyna?"

"Trying to get through the mercury disk."

"What?"

"Some kind of thing people eat to try to be her..."

"Shit."

"Does she get in?"

"...she's going to try to emulsify..."

".....pass through their guts?"

"....wow...."

"I would do anything for her."

"Wow."

"I saw it too."

"....wow!"

"Wow what?"

"......."

"You see why he likes her so much..."

"......you just got here my boy."

"Where?"

"What's funny is that they used all those memories against her....none of those people have memories of you."

"What?"

"Those two in the house right Die Die?"

"Yeah they cue in and can't remember a thing....there are no memories at all just pictures and a residence..."

"Weird dude."

"That's what I thought."

"She don't get it though?"

"She tries to recall but it gets absorbed by that woman's flesh...some kind of stress..."

"....weird."

"Yeah...good boy."

"Me?"

"No the dog."

"Dog?"

"...."

"Yeah..."

"Where is Odin and Diavolo?"

"....god damn."

"Yeah..."

"Sun you eat so much damn fruit I swear...."

"....did you see that too?"

"He was kind of cute though."

"Yeah..."

"Who?"

".....I know it too."

"Korean?"

"Yeah..."

"So does Rube."

"We all do."

"It's important."

"Yeah it is."

"Really it is..."

"That's what Lucid and Ebony said..."

"Oh Varu! She cries for you so much!"

"Where is she?"

"....god damn."

"....yeah..."

"....he ate garbage."

"The greasiest part and went through it too!"

"Chip was like what the fuck!"

"She didn't mean to..."

"That kind of stuff is hard to make without that shit..."

"Yeah it is..."

"Go take a bath boy!"

"He ate garbage man!"

"...."

"He liked it too."

"...."

"That shit get's bad quick."

"He feels bad for her..."

"He thinks she is going to die soon."

"....I don't get him."

"He's so god damn ugly."

"What is up with that world?"

"......she looks so different but still is Victoria."

"That lady cracks me up."

"She does..."

"That guy wants to take her out!"

"Just to piss people off!"

"She adores him..."

"....he doesn't."

"What is up with him?"

"He is the best god damn mask I ever saw!"

"No shit!"

"She smells like perky perfume."

"I do?"

"Yes."

"A fucking flower."

"He thinks she is a princess or something..."

"She's a queen. She is such a queen."

"She does look in the mirror a lot."

"Yeah you do Sun."

"...."

"I know she doesn't look like that."

"She just does that so people don't know."

"....how did she get hair on her legs?"

"What!"

"......reaction to the blood."

"That damn stuff Darkwing fakes for the marsh."

"....did you see it?"

"I did."

"Didn't know it was real."

"Angler fish?"

"...wow."

"Wow."

"Are they real?"

"....those were a lot of god damn buttons."

"Yeah no shit!"

"...she really is a prissy gal but can tear it up worse than bearded pirates."

"She gets that from Tusk."

"Yeah she walks like that."

"She's bow legged and turns like a thought."

"She can't help it!"

"She's motion crazy."

"I am."

"She's a tiger!"

"Tiger..."

"......"

"Tiger!"

"Cordelia..."

"I'm a tiger too."

"Momma I learned it."

"Your hair belongs to Lucid."

"I had a dream people thought I was you."

"Where were we?"

"...I don't know."

"What were you doing?"

"...I don't know."

".....you're my baby."

"I am. Forever."

"Dad she's pretty tall."

"Pretty?"

"It means the beauty of being."

"Oh..."

"I still carry her though."

"I'm here."

"My husband?"

"I am allegedly..."

"Kevin where are we?"

"Stage four."

"Where are you going?"

"You're going to be a hologram for a while."

"When?"

"....somewhere around eighty-five?"

"What about you?"

"....me too...ninety-three is when you are about there."

"You are at ninety-three?"

"Yeah."

"I will miss you terribly."

"I will miss you too."

"Do I tell people you are my husband?"

"No...you tell them I am your best friend."

"Good..."

".....no shit. What is that thing over there?"

"I can barely see."

"It looks nucleic green."

"Thad put Absinthe inside the liquid plasma extractor....."

"Great."

"That's what I said."

"That shit is going to make us see fairies the whole trip."

"Yeah..."

"Momma what was that?"

"A fairy."

"What is it?"

"....they beep a lot."

"Why?"

"....it was Ruby's fault."

"What did he do?"

"It was completely Victoria's fault Braid."

"You both put your hands over that thing didn't you?"

"We had to!"

".........."

"It was cool."

"...."

"Uh..."

"...."

"What did that do?"

".............................why is it when you both get naked some crazy shit happens?"

"He told somebody he shot up morphine."

"Wow he finally just gets over it?"

"Yeah..."

"Enough to say it?"

"Yeah! Go Sun!"

"What about it?"

"....it was from a fight."

"That's how he got that but it heals...slowly..."

"They told him it would kill the pain and they couldn't stop...that's when they had to walk that thing...that's why they did that."

"Was a bad fight. On the island..."

"....it broke his little rib."

".....well it didn't break but it got dislocated."

"The doctor was on it too."

"....she doesn't get it..."

"I used to cry so much. The strangest sorts..."

"Yeah..."

"Yeah..."

"I mean it was terrible!"

"Uh huh."

"We know."

"I couldn't even be with my husband!"

"...."

"......he hides really well."

"Oh well guess that's that."

"She doesn't get it either."

"..."

"That guy hates those people."

"He had to check it out."

"He was worried about something he can't figure out..."

"He finally remembers though..."

"She adores him."

I turned off his alarm so he would stop robbing banks. I gave the money to a porpoise and she took it to the triangle. That blood orange was divine and had a small amount of mortal crimson. We are going to break out whether these digital people know or not.