Arachne's Sin

Chapter 1: Perchance to . . .

                   By the pickin' of my teeth, Somethin' wicked bit my feet. --apologies to Mr. Shakespeare

It's all perspective.

Be the Sun. You flow through space in a great spinning island of stars in an even greater ribbon of starry islands; yet just a speck in the greater cosmos; again a speck in a multivers froth.

You see many bodies, most rocky, some gaseous. The closest zig around you, the farthest taking their time. You may note one body spinning like a wobbly top as it circles you. It has plenty of liquid water surrounding land masses banging into each other; a rocky marble barely settling down. As with everything else, it's nothing but change.

Now stand with two feet planted firmly on the ground. Your big toe keeps poking through a hole in your shoe, but you don't notice. Your gaze is fixed on a point of light, fainter than most stars, moving like a fast aeroplane until it fades into the morning twilight.

The stars are fixed above just as the ground is solid below. You know that you orbit the Sun. You may even know that the orbit moves as other planets influence yours. You either read it in a book or heard it in class, maybe on television. It doesn't matter. Whatever the truth, it's not how you think. You watch the sky brighten as the Sun comes up. You know that the Sun will set later that day and will rise again the next. What's real to you is that the Sun and the stars are set as if by a celestial jeweler and rotate around your great big world like a clockwork. What's real is that the sky is permanent and eternal just as the Earth is permanent and eternal since before your short life began. This is the Truth because it needs to be. It's permanent because the goings on around you are impermanent, erratic, and unpredictable. The Universe is solid because everything else is tremors.

***

PETER covered his eyes as the Sun climbed above Scott and Margie Peak. With a sigh, he turned south and started walking, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms. He looked up to see a faint few stars still visible between the Vegas glow and the morning light.

...

 He picked up a can of bicycle oil from behind a rock and coated the hinges of the screen door. He coaxed it open, then did the same for the wood door. Inside, he picked his way around beer cans and plastic toys. He took a glance at the mound on the couch when it snored. Back in his room, he picked up his backpack and checked to see that he had his books. He crept back outside and started downtown.

***

LYDIA closed her eyes and inhaled. In, then out. After the third breath, she opened her eyes and smiled at the approaching waitress.

"Hey, there! Can I interest you in something to drink, or are you ready to order?"

Lydia tugged at the menue's corner. "I'll have the Moons Over my Hammy, please."

"Sure thing. Anything to drink?"

"Hot tea, please."

"Sure thing."

Lydia took a phone battery out of her pocket and turned it over in her hands. She stared at the languages in small print.

She slipped it back into her pocket when another server arrived with her tea.

"Thank you," said Lydia.

The server only smiled.

...

The waitress came back and removed the empty plate and replaced it with the check. Lydia put her hands over her belly and slumped into the booth and closed her eyes.

Which shot open.

"Breathe," she whispered. "Now, up."

She scooted out of the booth and walked back toward the restrooms. The waitress saw her and smiled. Lydia grinned a little too big. As the bathroom door closed behind her she glanced at the restaurant entrance and saw a man in a rumpled suite.