“Well, that’s another story, not important right now.” She looked over my shoulder as her voice drifted off.
“I predicted Popcorn’s death, She was a very brave girl.” She quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, you should get going now. TUH Valley is a school for all the Key Holders. You’ll have to pass three tests to officially become one.”
My jaw dropped, no one warned me that I HAD TO PASS THREE TESTS!? I hated taking test!
“OH, and there is one more thing. HAHA. I almost forgot to tell you.” She slapped her head.
“One day in TUH Valley is equivalent to one year Earth time. When you finish the third biscuit it probably means you only have one day left.”
“WHAT!!!??” I shrieked. “But didn’t you just say that people don’t get old in TUH or something?? I already spent six months just to get here!!! And now you’re telling me that one day is equal to a year… and…”
“Easy girl.” Blue Pearl gently patted my shoulder, trying to calm me down. “I can’t help you with this time thing. The training might seem short in there but it actually requires a long time.”
I sighed.
“Don’t worry too much. If you pass, you pass. If you fail, you fail.”
“But… I don’t want to be the one that’s responsible for destroying Earth!!!” I shouted anxiously.
“Don’t be silly! Earth can take care of itself too!”
I scowled. The more information Blue Pearl gave me the more confused I got.
“Just eat a biscuit and go. You know you don’t have much time left! Better hurry!! I’ll be here when you come out!” She cheerfully urged me on. My face turned pale with dread, unsure what was ahead of me.
So I ate one biscuit and walked through the entrance of the cave. It was very dark and frightening. I couldn’t make out anything ahead of me. I quickly looked back at Blue Pearl for some kind of assurance but she was already gone. I took a deep breath, placed my hand against the wall of the cave and began slowly inching forward in the darkness. Suddenly, I began feeling dizzy and everything started to spin. I stopped walking and sat down on the cold ground. My heart was pounding, my breath was heavy, and my eyes started to close…
“Hello Kids! Come over here!”
7
Snow White
I didn’t remember who my first foster family was because I was only one at that time but the profile said they had me for almost two years.
However, I did remember my second foster family quite clearly. I was about four at the time and a tall man named Steve brought me back to his farm for the holiday season. I always knew from the beginning that this was a temporary arrangement. Steve was a kind and generous man, but he was just a poor farmer and wasn’t able to support a kid on his own. However, he really wanted to help orphans, so every year he saved some money and adopted a kid on a temporary basis so at least one orphan would have a home during the holidays.
Steve loved animals, just on his tiny farm alone he had ten dogs, six cats, three rabbits, five chickens, two horses, three cows, two monkeys, and one big pig. When I first came here I was quite frighten of them. To calm my nerves Steve introduced me to each one of these animals personally by telling me their names, personalities and habits. He taught me how to feed, touch and make friends with them. I remembered he had two huskies, one was named Ice, the other Ashley and even though they looked exactly alike they had very different personalities. Ice was very shy while Ashley was very wild. I got along with all the animals except the big pig named Pudding. I always thought he was kind of fat, ugly and noisy. However, Steve loved him dearly.
“You see him as an ANIMAL. FAT, UGLY and NOISY. I see him as a FRIEND. CUTE, FUNNY and SWEET.”
I woke up to a piercing headache. My vision was blurry and rubbing my eyes didn’t help. I felt this strange sensation as if my brain was floating outside my head. My body felt weightless and soft, all my muscles and bones seemed to have disappeared. I sat up slowly and tried to find my footing. It was very bright in here. I squinted and saw nothing except a glittering white passageway.
And then I screamed like I had never screamed before.
My body, my skin, everything about me looked different! I examined my trembling hands and saw that my skin was now completely white. It was also covered with these outlines of various geometrical shapes. These white geometrical shapes covered my entire body including my skin, hair, clothes and shoes? I looked like a strangely wrapped mummy!
What was going on here!?
It had to be my eyes playing a trick on me so I rubbed them again and again, but it didn’t change anything.
Oh My, I became SNOW WHITE! Not the princess in that fairytale but a freak covered in snow white skin!
I crawled forward on my hands and knees in horror, seeking a way out. Then, I heard footsteps, so I quickly turned back and saw… ANOTHER SNOW WHITE coming at me! I couldn’t tell what it was, it appeared to be tall, had a rounded head, two arms and a long body but no legs. It looked like a chess piece with arms. It wore something that appeared to be a monocle on the left side of its face. However, it wasn’t white or covered in patterns like other parts of its body.
“You’re the Key Holder from Earth.” It spoke. Its voice was deep and masculine.
“Yes.” I replied, revived that I could understand what it was saying.
“I’m your TUH Teacher. You can call me D.”
“I’m Beanie. “
“I know.”
“D, I can’t see anything clearly. Everything is white.”
“I know. Follow me.”
I crawled slowly behind him, dragging my legs along on the floor. I bet I must have looked very silly. We stopped in front of an enormous white door.
“You’ll have to pass three tests before you become an official Key Holder of Earth. The first test, you have to know how to SEE THROUGH.”
I couldn’t even see myself and it wanted me to pass a test called ‘See Through’?
“I know you can’t see things like you normally do.”
“YES! Everything is so strange! Nothing is normal!”
“Define STRANGE and NORMAL.”
“STRANGE is when everything is covered in this white stuff! NORMAL is when they have color and texture!”
“Touch your hands and tell me what you feel. “
They felt like… my hands. I could still feel the warmth and the texture of my skin as if they were normal.
“It feels the same as before, correct? Let me explain something to you, everything is initially created in these simple white geometrical shapes. It’s your vision that gives them color and texture thereby creating a new form. Now, you’re lucky enough to see everything as they once were and you call it STRANGE.”
LUCKY!?
“That’s why your first test involves seeing through things from your preconceive notion of STRANGE and NORMAL.”
“WHAT? How do I do that!???” I was freaking out.
“You may want to first try seeing something you’re familiar with, like YOURSELF.”
“HOW!?
“You remember what the NORMAL you look like, don’t you?” D emphasized on the N word. I had a feeling that he was teasing me.
“Yes?”
“Good. Then try to see through yourself first. You must feel it, feel every little detail.”
“But…”
“That’s all I can teach you now. There will be other Key Holders in the classroom. You can discuss it with them. The test is located at the exit. I’ll see you when you pass.”
D pushed the door and rushed me in, giving me no opportunity to ask any more questions.
More Snow Whites appeared behind the door. There were big ones, small ones, round ones and square ones. Some were flying and others were walking, crawling and jumping. I wished I could see what they normally looked like, especially when they all seemed so fascinating even without color and texture.
After a while of satisfying my curiosity by exploring m
y surrounding, the excitement and novelty began to gradually wear off. This Snow White vision was beginning to make me feel lonely, depressed and scared. I didn’t understand anything in here and didn’t know where to start learning how to see through things.
I found an empty corner and sat down. I pulled down my beanie over my face; I could still feel the soft wool and familiar smell. I slowly brushed it against my face and hoped that the familiar feeling would calm me down. I slowly opened my eyes… I could see a small piece of maroon wool fabric against the white back drop, but as suddenly as it appeared it was gone. I gasped in shock but this glimpse of the familiarity definitely gave me some confidence and comfort.
Yes, D was right! I should start from something I was familiar with, like myself.
So I started at my hands. I stared at the fingers and then the palms. I knew what they supposed to look like… but just couldn’t remember the details. I tried recalling all those mental images of myself but couldn’t seem to bring to mind what my hands looked like. Had I never paid attention to them before?
The piercing headache had return so I lie down on the floor and closed my eyes. The darkness actually bought me some comfort because it was another color other than WHITE.
In the darkness, a white square object emerged, waddling to me.
“Hey, Beanie.” It talked in a funny voice, alternating between an irregular high and low pitch tone.
“Yes. Who are you!?”
“Are you kidding me? We’re friends!” It shook from left to right.
“Are we?”
“YES! We have already been stuck together for a long time!” It jumped up and down rapidly.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t remember you. What’s your name?”
“It’s not funny, Beanie. I’m BOX!”
BOX?? Box? Box?...
BOX!!!!
Yes! How could I forget about the TREASURE Morris gave me? And how could I forget what Morris would always say to me when we played together?
“Beanie, look at these lines on your palm!”
“Beanie, I love your fingers, look at them! They’re so long and elegant. Especially the pinky, so small! And this cute nail!”
“Oh my god, Beanie, don’t you think your little toes look like peanuts!?”
“Beanie, your hair is so soft, just like silk! Unlike mine! Hahahaha.”
“Beanie, do you know how many moles you have? From what I can see, you have one on the center of your nose, one on the corner of your left eye, one on the right cheek, one here on your neck… and…”
“Beanie, you have…”
Yes, that was me!
The little Beanie doll materialized in front of me. She made a face as if teasing me for not remembering what she looked like. She spun and spun, waving to me, showing me every part of her.
I looked at her and looked at me, looked at her once more and looked at me again… The splashes of beautiful colors and the textures I saw on the doll suddenly appeared on me piece by piece in a continuous rhythm like waves hitting the shore. I could finally see through myself!
I jumped up with my fist clenched and made a roar, but the confident roar soon turned into a pitiful wail because something punched me in the back causing me to fall forward to the floor. Frightened, I turned around and saw an enormous SNOW WHITE standing there screeching at me.
Even though I became normal again, I still saw everything around me as Snow White. The enormous Snow White continued to screech at me. I pulled on its long arm and made it sit down with me. Its arm was cold like metal and kind of reminded me of Pudding, whose skin was cool and rough. I moved my hand up and down this giant Snow White, from its head to its feet. To SEE something by FEELING and not LOOKING was a brand new experience for me. Through my hands I could discern every little detail, from the texture and temperature of the skin to the lines, curves and dips of the body. The amazing features I could see by touch alone were incredibly sharp. This enormous Snow White felt like a robot comprised of individual square blocks connected to one another like LEGOS. I closed my eyes and imagined what a giant colorful LEGO robot might look like. I giggled and opened my eyes, and there standing before me was perfect image of what I had imagined!
“Hello! Alien Robot!” I chuckled. “You are such a cute and dazzling Robot!”
It stared at me with its three big eyes, looking confused.
“You should feel me then maybe you can see me as well!” I dragged its hand and moved it around on my head and body.
“But please no hitting!” I said, unsure if it understood me or not.
Robot’s ‘Full Body Massage’ felt surprisingly relaxing and gentle. It quickly made me fell asleep on the floor. It was a long and deep sleep. I must have been very tired because even though my day had just started it felt like it had already been a very long day.
Suddenly, a slap across on my face jerked me awake from a wonderful dream involving a chocolate cake.
“ROBOT! That’s not nice!” I shouted while rubbing my swollen cheek.
The Robot stood up, raised its arms, pointed at me, pointed at it and then screeched. I assumed that it was trying communicate the fact that now it could also See Through.
“Good job, Robot! But bad, very bad for hitting me!” I talked to it as if I was talking to Mr. Golden. It just stood there and stared at me with three big innocent eyes.
Without warning another big SNOW WHITE creature approached us. I gazed at it intensely, trying to feel it with my mind without touching it. I was concentrating as if nothing else existed except this Snow White. A huge silver praying mantis-like creature emerged, creeping toward us. Robot and Praying Mantis then began to interact with each other as if trying to communicate by performing some strange and funny poses. I giggled as I watched them awkwardly trying to talk with each other. A growling noise from my stomach suddenly reminded me the task at hand, I began walking towards the exit to take the first test.
In the final test room there were three men standing in a row, motionless like statues in a museum.
“Which one’s your Teacher?”
A voice spoke but it wasn’t from the three men that were standing before me. I looked around but couldn’t see anybody else. I began staring at these three men, and almost instantly I was able to see through to their NORMAL self. The one on the left, with a very strange hairstyle and hairy beard was in a long dark blue robe. His head was neatly shaved expect for a patch of red hair in front that covered his right eye. The man in the middle, who was completely bald and had grey eyes, was in a long green and blue robe. The man on the right looked very similar to the man in the middle, the only differences were he wore a silver monocle and his robe was shorter, exposing his black boots.
Obviously I couldn’t identify D using my NORMAL sight since I had only seen him when he was still a SNOW WHITE. So I began to focus and successfully transformed these three gentlemen into Snow Whites.
Okay... There was no way the man on the left was D because of his enormous triangle shaped head.
The man in the middle? He could be D but there was something missing…
Umm… finally, the man on the right? Nah… I didn’t remember I could see his feet like that. BUT hey, if the man in the middle had his monocle he would look just like D.
“Please indicate your Teacher now.” The voice gave the order again.
Hesitant, I began biting my index finger, unsure as to how to make the final decision.
“Hmmm… I… I… well... don’t… not sure…” I stuttered.
“I think… NoneOfThemIsRightOnlyIfHisMonocleIsWasOnHisFace.” I spoke rapidly while initially pointing to the man on the right then quickly moving my finger to the man in the middle. I didn’t know why I did that. I probably thought I could fool them this way.
It was dead silent for what seemed like an eternity. I felt a drip of sweat rolled down my forehead. Suddenly, the man in the middle began to move. I jumped and shrieked with excitement. He slowly turned to his right
, took the monocle off the other man and placed it on his face.
“Congratulations, Key Holder. You just passed the first test.”
“D, I can’t see anything clearly. Everything is white.”
8
Shape of the Sound
Remember my ninth foster family, Mr. and Mrs. Huang? They were Chinese, so they usually spoke to each other in their native language. At first I was very confused and suspected they were saying something bad about me. However, after a while I got used to it. More surprisingly, I even began to understand some of what they were saying without anyone teaching me the language. When they said “ke wù!” I knew it meant there must be some difficult customers in the restaurant and when they whispered “tài bang le!” I knew they were happy about something.
So I just passed the first test. Now I was following D to the next one feeling rather confident.
“I think you look much better in the NOR-MAL way, D.” I purposely stretched out the N word.
“You think so?”
I nodded.
“To a human being, I might look better this way. To others, I might look better the other way.”
“You think so?” I said, copying the way he said it earlier.
“Tell me, how do you feel about the appearance of other creatures other than humans?”
“Ummm… Some look amazing, some look… very scary and ugly!”
“Well, they might feel the same way about you too. You think the ideal look must be one head, two eyes, one mouth, two arms, two legs and so on… and with the colors and textures you think are right or attractive. But to other kinds of creatures you might look scary and ugly too.”
“Umm… that’s true.”
“So, if everything could be seen in their original colors and shapes, don’t you think we would all look alike and no one would think the other is scary and ugly?”
“You can say that. But I think it will be very boring if everyone looked the same.”
“Maybe.” D flashed a brief smile.
“By the way, do you have… maybe… a cafeteria here? I’m so hungry.” I rubbed my stomach.
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