The Hopefuls do a one-eighty as I step through Stocatta Embassy's sacred doors. I'm not surprised they can see me at all. Nothing gets past them. I only have to make sure not to enter the ambassador's office and I'll be just fine. Now, Miss Nosy I'd love to scare out of her wits. I look around the room for her. But it seems to be just the hopefuls and me. Good. This will give me a chance to examine them. I zoom in on the one with the most exposed skin. Its chessboard design makes me think of what the old matron said. Those patches of rough sit right next to the ones that are smooth, and they never get in each other's way. Neither are there barriers. They seem to be their own mediator, bringing a harmony to their body, thus lending the hopefuls the determination to survive the bitter cold that always hunts them down.
That's why they keep coming back for more, keep crawling out of Florence Street Extension and trying again, going it another round with the destructive forces that are us, the perfect ones, the ones faking it so we can stand on their throats and sink our heels in. So how do I get to be such a stone wall? Do I dive into the ocean to find my strength? The nylon offers no answers. In fact, it decides that this is the best moment to bow before me then journey to where the intruder is. When I exit the room, a stick awaits. It's nothing spectacular; just something broken off a bay leaf tree. I lean forward and save it from the cold floor. It imprints itself into the M of my palm and whispers to my mind where the next door is.
YOU ARE READING
NINE TIME MACHINES: Do you want to undo your entire life on planet earth?
FantasyThere is a war coming! In it, Lilith and the impostor God must battle for all human minds on earth. But one girl can stand in the gap for all humanity. However, to prove worthy for this feat, Mary must begin shadow work to take the mark upon herself...
