The exercise:
Time for our final revisitation of the year. Let's hit up Empires one last time.
With the move imminent, I'm going to try to schedule some posts for the next little while. Seeing as I'm always late to add to the revisits, now seems as good a time as any.
I will try to pop in with any news or updates though. And if I somehow manage to add to Empires as well... then you can assume things are going surprisingly smoothly.
... or that my procrastination abilities are as strong as they've ever been.
3 comments:
Welcome Ahmed! I see you're another poet writing in Arabic about... cleaning companies? And pest control? I feel I should warn you that Marc has his own approach to pest control and keeping a clean house. But of course, while he needs to maintain sanity and sanitation on his blog, I seek deeper enlightenment and the connections between pest control and Empires, and a tale wherein strange time-divided twins attempt to understand the world they find themselves in. Clearly you've named their final refuge "Qassam" and are suggesting, through delightfully scarce words and barren verse, that their alien child is a worry, and perhaps even an invasive species, and that a certain amount of caution is warranted. I think your work, though truly minimalist in its brevity, would benefit from referencing the name of at least one major character, and (if I brutally honest here) being written in the same language as the original. Perhaps I'm a philistine for suggesting that, but switching not only language but also alphabet part-way through a tale suggests a writer who seeks only masochists as an audience, and there simply aren't enough of them for us all to share!
But back to Empires :) I see that the Mayor might not be completely out of the picture yet, and that Ana and Stacey might not get to raise their child... probably, based on what we know, the first egg-child from two egg-child parents, in the peace they almost certainly need. I like how you've upped the stakes again, even in the epilogue ;-) Are you planning on continuing one of these in the future then?
Empires, continued
"When you and David have your chi--"
"If," interrupted Ana.
"When," said Stacey, unabashed. "I suppose we'll be at the point where we might be founding a dynasty. If these egg-children are as special as we think they will be."
Ana frowned. "We might need a little more genetic diversity," she said. "And the only other twins we know are the Marias."
"Not them," said Stacey quickly. "There's the Mayor's son too, but not him either."
Ana allowed herself a short, harsh laugh. "That would be genetic diversity," she said, "but I don't think our tiny gene pool could cope with it this early on. No, if you want a dynasty we're going to have to find other couples to use this like our parents did, and then help them raise their children into people like us."
They were both silent for a moment. Then Stacey sighed. "We're talking about what the doctor started in Crimson Falls," she said.
"It's the egg," said Ben. Both women looked up, neither having heard him come outside. He sat down on the edge of the patio, near the birthing/paddling pool, and shaded his eyes with his hand as he looked over the grass to their sunloungers. "The egg wants a dynasty, or an army, or an Empire. It brings on these thoughts I think. They go away when it's covered up."
The egg was sitting in its basket near Stacey's side. She reached down after a moment's hesitation, and closed up the lid. They all sat there, waiting.
"I don't feel like re-enacting Crimson Falls," said Ana. "It feels like a bad idea. Again."
"And this is why I think the egg might tell the Mayor where it is," said Stacey. "When it knows it won't win with us, I think it will try and find someone it can work with. And it knows the Mayor, and the doctor's house was full of egg-stuff."
"I did offer to burn it down," said Ana. She glanced over and Ben and winked; he shrugged.
"We still can," he said. "David wouldn't hesitate, he'll happily go with you."
"It might be a good idea," said Ana. "We've been gone for long enough that we wouldn't be the first suspects, and no-one knows where we are anyway."
"No!" Stacey pushed herself upright, gasping slightly. She rested a hand on her bump. "No arson, Ana! You just want to show everyone how you can get away with crimes because you're cleverer than them all."
Their laughter was interrupted by a sudden, sharper gasp from Stacey. She twitched, and then suddenly swung her legs off the lounger.
"My water's broken," she said after a moment. Ben stood up and darted off into the house. "Oh wow, I guess this is all actually happening." She reached down and opened the bag containing the egg. "Whatever it wants," she said, "it needs to be here for this. Oh crap, this is scary, Ana!"
"Sit back," said Ana. "We can get you to the pool in five seconds when the contractions are close enough together. Start counting them, and try not to think of Empire."
Greg - always good to see you having fun with new visitors to the blog :P
Anyway, this has been put off plenty long enough already, so I shall get on with the getting on.
Empires, continued
The contractions grew more powerful with alarming speed. By the time Ben returned with the birthing bag the four of them had prepared together weeks prior - filled with blankets, towels, boxes of sterile gloves, bottled water, and various other things necessary for a home birth - Stacey was alternating between screaming and panicked panting.
"This is happening fast," Ana muttered to Ben as she grabbed the bag from him. "Too fast. Run and get David."
"It's the egg," Ben said for the second time. Then, as he turned to fetch his twin, he added, "I think it's in a rush to get the baby here before we figure too much out."
Ana stood, her mouth working wordlessly as she watched him running back into the house. Could the egg really be that malevolent? What were they - but then her thoughts were cut short by another one of Stacey's increasingly shrill screams.
"Come on, Stacey," she said, trying to keep the concern out of her voice. Was it really so long ago that she possessed the calming presence of a grandmother? "Let's get you to the pool. That's it, little steps. Hold on tight. I got you."
"Bring the egg to me," Stacey gasped once she'd sat down in the water. "Quickly. Hurry." Another scream, her head tilting upwards so that it seemed like she was directing all her anguish at God.
Ana turned her head to look at the egg but otherwise remained still. What would happen if she covered it up instead? Buried it in the sand? Threw it in the ocean?
"Ana!"
"Okay, okay! I'll be right back with it. Just... just breathe, okay? That's all you need to do."
She stood and forced herself to walk slowly toward the egg, even though she wanted to run to it. Or was it the egg wanting her to do that? Ben would know the answer, but he hadn't returned yet. Where was he? Where was David?
Ana reached the egg, Stacey still screaming and panting behind her. She could almost feel the egg in her head, pushing her own thoughts aside to make room for its own. She pushed back savagely and gained just enough ground for clarity to return.
She had to get rid of it. Now or it would be too late. Now or there would never be another chance. It would win.
She reached down to cover it up again.
Stacey's voice froze her in place.
"Don't. You. Dare."
"What?" she asked, her fingers tickling the air inches away from the egg. She could feel her resolve beginning to ebb already.
"I know. What. You want. To do. You. Can't. I won't. Let. You."
Ana straightened and turned to face her twin. "I don't know what you're talking a..." But her words caught in her throat when she found Stacey standing, waving side to side and dripping water into a puddle at her feet, only steps away. "Where... where did you get that?"
"Get what?" Stacey asked, confusion masking her pain and fury.
"Th... that," Ana replied, pointing.
Stacey looked down and was stunned to find a chef's knife in her hand.
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