Book Six
Excerpt from “Remote Viewing”
Joy decided to have one of her “one-month” experiences the day before Temple XXXXX left for the north. Figuring she better try this before XXXXX left, just in case – oh, who knows – she needed a hug after the thing was over, maybe. She was excited, fearful, but more excited than anything. She simply laid down in the XXXXX hammock, closed her eyes and said, “I’m ready.”
Day 1) She woke up feeling dislocated. Her name was Mercury Joe Spadix. It was a bad ass name. She had a penis.
Day 2) Mercury Joe spent an hour in the morning searching his body for icky scales. It was his day off. Penis.
Day 3) Joy had completely forgotten she was in there. He dreamed of breaching the surface and going higher and higher than everyone else. When he woke, he reported for duty pulling the pully at the Spadix Gam Branch loading port. He was a pro pulley puller.
Day 4) Mercury Joe pulled a double shift pulling pulleys. After work he went by the Middle Market and listened to some Naiad and Mermaid singers.
Day 5) Loach reported the Temple was leaving the Himalayan Archipelago. Exotic treasure would be hoisted. Work got stressful. Double shift again.
Day 6) Went to see singers. Caught a buzz. Can’t get song out of head: “Streets of the Temple” or something – old and traditional song. Hummed it all day. Total earworm.
Day 7) Work. Ate some rotten squid. Had the ick all day. Slept. Dreamed a Naiad was kissing his neck and gills. Pulled one.
Day 8) Work. Scraped barnacle build-up out of Spadix Gam-Banner pullies. Felt better. Hummed song. Roommate started drinking early. Payday tomorrow.
Day 9) Work. Got paid. A skiff full of live trilobites overturned. Gave everyone the “willies.” Six of us had to skewer and/or tail-smash them all. Lots of ‘men screaming like ‘maids. Me included, lol. Hassle.
Day 10) Roommate: Kofu Spadix Jr. He kept drinking – then vomited. Escorted him to Lower Market Display. Drank.
Day 11) Kofu in bar-fight. Still drinking. Spins. Sat outside Ples Pit and let Lil Arthur lick face. Puked.
Day 12) Work, work, work. Back ache. Humming song. Realize has crush on singer. Pretty dark blue girl: Mollie Gourami.
Day 13) Work. Plan on flirting with Mollie at club. Work. Bowl of crushed seaweed and doonies. Roommate in coma.
Day 14) Woke up from dream of being a woman. Hard on. Roommate Kofu came home covered in ick. Flushed room.
Day 15) Ate, worked, ate. Worked. Went to see Mollie sing. Compared her to other girls just to be sure. Thought about finances.
Day 16) Work. Back problem. Rest. Work. Everyone at work got a handful of pearls from a pearl skiff. Sweet.
Day 17) Screwed around at work. Could have done better. Paid a runner to deliver pearls to Mollie Gourami: from “a fan.” Can’t recall if I remember seeing her in the Tunnels pre baj.
Day 18) Restless sleep. Fretting about sending the gift. Distracted at work. Humming Mollie songs forcefully. Guys at work notice.
Day 19) Normal day. Day: Normal. Work, work. Back ache. Ate a handful of live seahorses – supposed to be a delicacy.
Day 20) Kofu surprise! He paid for prostitutes at Lower Market brothel. Won’t go. Fight. Okay, I’ll go. Restless sleep. Why life why?
Day 21) L.M. brothel. Kofu got loudly laid. Mercury Joe (self) paid girls to give “legit” massage. Had tail pulled. Back cracked. Feels great! Back fixed for now.
Day 22) Took it easy at work. Crab for lunch. Crab pinched tongue. Icker! Could hear whale song from loading bay. Sweet. Mollie thoughts. Humming.
Day 23) Work. Saw Mollie talking with another guy at bar. Her “boyfriend?” Thank God he’s ugly and short. Introduce myself. Proud I made it through conversation w/o sounding dumb.
Day 24) Work… Work! Went to bar to see Mollie sing. She sang my favorite song for me! I think. She pointed at me. Booya! Thanked her. Thank you! Thank you! She says she sings the song because she shares her name with the girl in the song lyrics. Oh, yeah.
Day 25) Day off! Pestered Mollie all day. Says she has three boyfriends, I could be her fourth, if I promise not to fight. Hell, yes! Reveal I was pearl gift giver. Kiss? … Yes! Kiss!!
Day 26) Arranged a half day of work. Mollie says she has no control over who her boyfriends are. Talk to or bribe the restaurant owner, she says.
Day 27) Roommate conscripted into emergency outing. Other guys too. Apartment to myself. Swim around with penis hanging out. Screw roommate’s laundry pile. Ha!
Day 28) Mollie meets but cancels date, asks me to stay safe. Says “Go to church tomorrow.” Not religious. Is she? Good girls always are. Whatever. Weird.
Day 29) Kofu comes home in panic, leaves. All Spadix ordered to outside battle. Volunteer army called up. Temple speed increase. Gam Banner control on standby.
Day 30) Ordered to charge Temple Eight! WTI? Only two-hour swim away. No one knows anything. Ples revolt or something. I hope Mollie’s okay.
***
Joy woke up in her bunk with a gasp with her heart racing; her hands moved to the center of her chest. She had a knot on her left side lower back.
“Oh! Son of a bitch.” She splashed out of bed and swam to the freshwater basin and looked at her reflection. She touched her face and caressed her neck. She put both hands over her beating heart. She felt small.
Copyright (c) 2023 Matt Schumann