by Davi Cao
“I want you to abandon your world. Could you do that for me?”
Bibi’s kite spun on itself, followed by the stretching of its ribbons. Each little piece of its decoration painted the blue mist around it with movement. Beautiful, unique, that gentle manifestation of its weak physical existence stopped the Creator’s dialogue. It penetrated their minds with an imperative saying.
“OOOO’s world deserves more. It still didn’t reach its apex. Far from it. I’m in touch with many other Creators, and they want it to go on for now.’
“Yes, you see? I can’t abandon it now. The World Voice is very interesting, isn’t it?”
“But if you don’t give up on this hell, I’ll never be able to have my world back—” Colin said.
“What do you mean? Don’t you have your small town now?”
“It’s crumbling. People are getting mad, it’s not the Terra that I wanted to have. As much as I try to shield them, the World Voice always finds a way. It’s melting them little by little.”
“You said they were fine, didn’t you? You lied!” OOOO said, shocked and amused.
“I did.”
“I knew he was lying,” Bibi said.
“Creators don’t need to lie do they? Why did you do it?” OOOO said.
“I’m sorry, OK, I’m sorry!” Colin said. “I failed at my project, once again, like everything I ever tried to do, and I didn’t want you to know it, ok? It was bad enough to be human and suck at every project I ever put my hands on, it’s even worse to be immortal, have power, and still suck.”
“He’s being honest now,” Bibi said.
“This is too interesting, yes, I have to see it, I have to!” OOOO said.
OOOO’s face glowed with blue, his eyes switched focus from Colin to what came behind him. Colin turned around to see it too, and the great pillar took a third of the sky.
“I can’t do anything right ... I’m so worthless ... Have mercy on me and kill me ... I beg you ...”
They jumped in fright and ran downhill, fleeing from the World Voice’s sweeping pain. Colin grabbed OOOO’s neck straps while it hopped at great speed. The glowing pillar bombarded the exact area of his safe haven.
The hatch’s outer shell became one with the melted ground. Colin found it only by reference to the tall mound where OOOO and Bibi played their game. It didn’t resist the World Voice’s intensive sadness, and to think of the underground’s fate made him sick. He would only find out his town’s destiny once inside.
“You’ll let me in this time, won’t you? If you don’t, I’ll be sad, very sad, and you don’t like it, do you? To see others sad?” OOOO said.
“If someone is still alive down there, and if they see you, they’ll get scared. We didn’t have creatures like you in Terra.”
“Yes, you did, didn’t you? Don’t lie again, you see? They will have fun with me, I promise.”
“Hm. OK, I’ll let you come with me. However, after you see the damage your world is making to mine, you’ll have to give up on your world. Do you promise me that?”
“Of course not! You’re not the only Creator, are you? We all want to have worlds of our own, don’t we? You see, you have to accept it,” OOOO said.
“Just take a look at it and think about it. I trust you have compassion in that strange mind of yours.”
Colin opened the hatch and went inside the hallway leading to the stairs. OOOO went along, closing the door behind it. The steps remained still firm, hanging on to their weight in good cement slab fashion.
Nearing the town’s entrance, they heard noises. Colin opened the hidden door, making no effort to conceal his friend’s scary face. OOOO entered the town, marveling at the huge warehouse-like confinement of that small world.
A cat jumped on the street, half melted, agonizing from rashes on its skin, screaming in pain. They watched the animal’s contortions on the asphalt, until it saw them and ran away, leaving a trail of blood in its path. Colin felt a chill in his spine, scared to think of the people.
They walked past all the houses on the main street. OOOO got closer to many of them, curious in front of new toys. It took a peek at those individual realities to admire the World Voice's impacts on so many unique creations. Colin shouted at it, pushing it back to stay with him, keeping it out of other people's disasters. He led OOOO to his office, so that he could test the effect of the other Creator’s presence on the ones he cared less about.
Going through the office door, they found the computer room resting empty, the screens turned on and the chairs messy, as if people had just left the place without minding disorder. Colin knocked on Mr. Alden’s private room and opened the door with caution.
“How dare you come back here after all you did to me? I’ll kick your butt, you—” Mr. Alden began to say, advancing with anger towards the entrance. He then saw OOOO behind Colin. “Ah, I see. You were out to get us a new designer. OK, now you’re talking, that’s the spirit, my boy. This one has many arms, it’s double, triple the production! Great, and I was starting to be disappointed in you, oh, sorry for not putting more faith in you. Now get to work! What’s your salary, new one?”
“Me? I’ll do it for free, won’t I?” OOOO said.
“Ah, haha, oh boy, that’s it, that’s what I like, I see a great future ahead of you, my fellow ... my fellow ... hey, what should I call you?”
“OOOO, with the teeth, like this, you see?”
“Never mind, just get to work, and welcome aboard! We’re busy now, it’s hard work up here, you came into the eye of the storm, I’ll be honest, it’s going to be a rough ride, and you won’t get paid, but you’ll do good, and Colin here will help you, he’s a great project manager, anything you want, just ask him, ok?”
“OK, let’s get to work!” OOOO turned around and hopped among the computers, not having the least idea of what to do. “You’ll teach me what I have to do, won’t you?”
“Yes, he will, yes, he will! That’s the spirit, I like you,” Mr. Alden said.
“And I like you too!” OOOO said to him.
Two computers broke down in the first ten minutes of OOOO’s disastrous attempt at work. Colin first tried to dissuade it from that idea, pulling it out of the room.
“Can’t you see? Mr. Alden is mad! You shouldn’t comply with him, because his request means nothing relevant. I only showed him so that you can see the pain you’re causing.”
“Just create what he wants and he'll be happy. Why don't you do it?”
“I want to live like before, and I didn't do things by magic in Terra. I want good, honest work, not madness.”
“It is fun to be with mad people then, isn’t it? He seemed like a great creation to me. Let me work,” OOOO said.
“No, it’s not fun, it’s awful, and sad. I’m glad he’s not melting down yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
“Work, work, work, show me what I have to do, I want to try it!”
Arguing with OOOO turned out to be impossible in its excited state, thus Colin helped it with a computer. Its feet crushed the mouse, so tough and clumsy that the keyboard broke at every hit. Nothing stopped it, though, to the point when it hit the screen to touch what appeared in there.
“Give me another one, I’m getting good at this, am I not?” OOOO said, breaking everything.
“Can I lie?”
“Of course not!”
“You’re terrible at this.”
“That’s your way of seeing it, isn’t it? Others would love to see what I’m doing.”
When all the computers suffered destruction, torn to pieces, Colin refused to create others for OOOO. To direct its curiosity surge to more urgent matters, he proposed a visit to his house, to meet his family. OOOO hopped in the room, thrilled with the idea, anxious to see and touch all creations of that amazing town. It jumped on the street under Colin’s guidance, spinning its head in full circles to admire every small detail in that black and green scenery.
Sarah read on her cell phone, si
tting in the kitchen’s corner. She noticed the new people in her house from the corner of her eye, not moving her head to acknowledge their presence. She had a sick tone to her brown skin, starved tissues peeling off, and her bones protruded through her thin muscles. Big chunks of her curly black hair lay on the ground next to her, she wore nothing but her underwear, and she smelled of urine.
“Mom ... where’s Dad?” Colin said.
“He disappeared,” she said, looking down.
“You should get up and take a shower. I’ll get you something to eat, ok?”
“Shut up, leave me alone. Don’t you see I’m reading?”
“Yes, she’s reading, isn’t she?” OOOO said in her defense.
Colin investigated the house, looking for his father. He had vanished. Through his bedroom window, he could see the whole town, a small place to hide. OOOO stayed down in the kitchen, watching Sarah’s meditation on her cell phone, making small noises to see how she would react. She didn’t react.
“This is hell ... This is really bad, how can I live like this?” Colin left the house, beginning his search for Francis.
“You’re complaining about the best things in a Creator’s life!” OOOO said.
“Hell, absolute hell. They’re all going to die again, and it’s my fault, all because I can’t do anything right, I’m worthless, yes, I am.”
Before OOOO could reply, they arrived at another house, where Colin entered without even knocking. He crossed through the opened door, into a dark chamber, illuminated by a flickering light coming from the room next to the entrance. A TV screen agonized in light and color, in front of which Angeline still watched the same program from last night, still dirty and lazy.
She saw OOOO come into the living room and jumped in fright. At last someone still human, thought Colin, about to explain to her the nature of OOOO. She knelt in front of it and raised her arms to the ceiling.
“I’m ready, you can take me,” she said.
“You want to fit in?” OOOO widened its eyes and opened the greatest of its smiles.
“Stop it, Angeline, it’s not here to take you. I came to see how you’re doing, to see if you need any help,” Colin said.
“I need this creature’s aid, and that only. You’re death who came to take me, aren’t you?”
“Ah, no, I’m not death, am I? I’m OOOO! I like to fit in.” It approached Angeline with its spidery body, enveloping her dirty face in its colored straps.
She accepted its gesture and hugged it, while Colin watched their caring interaction at a distance. Powerless, clueless about any course of action, he decided to wait.
“Not as good as dying, but at least it’s something. How many legs do you have? Hm, let me count them with you. One, two, three, four—” Angeline said.
“Five, six, seven, eight, nine. Nine legs, isn’t it?” OOOO said.
“Yeah, amazing! Are you from this town? Because I never saw you before.”
“No, I’m from the upper world. You’ve never seen it, have you?”
“I haven’t. I want to go there. The upper world is heaven, right? Funny, I thought it didn’t exist.”
“It’s not heaven, haha, it’s very different, and very interesting. Isn’t it, Colin?” OOOO said, bringing him into their conversation.
“It’s a terrible place, Angeline,” he said.
“Oh, I want to see it! Take me there, my new friend, show me how it is up in your world. Let’s run away together!” Angeline said.
OOOO, holding her on its lap, spun its head in Colin's direction. Speechless, it looked for words special enough to convey the immense joy flooding its mind. It spoke in a trembling voice, as close to crying as its kind could come to:
“It’s a marvelous world, right here. Why do you want to destroy it now?”
∙ 18 ∙ Funeral
The town lived. Its fate comprised two choices, however: either melting down eventually or disappearing by Colin’s will. Unable to cope with the idea of losing his beloved ones again, he set himself on a healing path. The fact that they came to life as products of his own will mattered nothing to the case. Deep down, that depressed and dirty Angeline contained the same essence of the one from old Terra.
“My parents are in trouble and I can’t take care of them. I need your help. Would you come with me? That’s how we run away,” Colin said to her.
“Why don’t they die now? It’s the best we can do. It’s worthless living in this place,” she said.
“We can change it. If only we get back to our normal lives, it will all get better. We need to occupy our minds with productive thoughts, instead of just waiting for the end of the world.”
“Oh, is that so? Alright, you’re the wise one, aren’t you, the responsible one. I’ll help you out, yes, let’s take care of your parents. Then I want to see how we’re going to take care of you,” Angeline said.
“What do you mean? I’m the least important one at this moment.”
“I think it’s the contrary, Colin. You’re the worst of all.”
OOOO watched their dialogue, leaning right then left on its feet, capturing every angle of their confrontation. It listened in joy, armored against the World Voice's faintest whispers. It followed them out of the house, walking across the street and two blocks away. A dead cat lay half melted on the asphalt. Fond of that town, still discovering its characters, even OOOO wanted to help Colin avoid the melting in there.
Sarah sat motionless on the floor, staring at the door. Her son and his friends entered it, and she showed them her powerless cell phone. It fell on the floor and spilled liquid silicon from the recharger’s hole. Staring at that small disaster, she dropped her hand on her knee and started to cry.
“Mom ... Mom, don’t cry. Here, we’re all here for you, we’re going to help you. You have to eat something, I’ll get you some bread.” Colin raised her by the shoulder to make her sit at the table.
“Do you know what I want?” Sarah said.
“Tell me. I’ll give you anything you need,” he said.
“To die. This life is shit,” she said.
“I’m with you, Mrs. Zanetti. Perhaps you could run away with us too. We’re looking for a better world,” Angeline said.
“The better world to me is heaven. That’s what I want. Can you take me there?” Sarah said.
“No, I can’t. But our new friend here can.” Angeline shook her head and pointed her chin at OOOO.
“Me? I want to learn from you, I’ll go wherever you go, won’t I? I’m not here to lead,” OOOO said.
“Eat this, it’ll be good for you, mom, stop talking about these silly things. You need to feed yourself, to have a good bath, and then get back to work or something. You have to do stuff to stop being so lazy.”
“You eat this crap! Leave me alone. I’m trapped in hell ... I’m tired of being so useless.” Sarah banged her head on the table with so much strength that Angeline closed her eyes, afraid to see blood.
“No! No, you’re not useless! You’re a great mother, a wonderful wife, you sacrificed your health to work and get money to raise me, mom, I love you, please, you are a—”
“I sacrificed myself to raise a man who’s as useless as I am,” Sarah said, a drop of blood falling on her eye. She banged her head again on the table, cracking the depressed wood.
All eyes turned on her, waiting for her recovery. The remaining hair on her head dripped down in liquid form, clumped together, and then flowed down her scalp.
She melted down on the chair, contaminating the wooden table with her condition's misery.
Angeline, for the first time watching death, savored Sarah's disappearance with alert eyes. Colin, desolated with his mother’s dissolution, hoped for a hug from Angeline, and didn’t have the courage to ask for one. OOOO smiled and held its laugh.
Colin held the funeral with a mere moment of silence. Sarah’s remains mingled with the furniture, losing any reference to its original content. Flesh became one with wood. She could liv
e again, if Colin so wished, she could live forever in an unending cycle of integrity and dissolution. He considered the thought, and that made him calmer, until the World Voice spoke in the depths of his mind, tormenting him with the usual lament. He had to change the world back to its original constitution.
His father Francis had disappeared, according to his mother’s saying. Nobody could hide forever in town. Colin left his house for one last time, leading his friends in the search for his father.
“OOOO, you search that half. Angeline and I go to the other, ok? If you find him before we do, keep him safe and wait until we find you.”
“What is keeping him safe? When you die, you are safe,” OOOO said.
“Don’t let him meltdown or die in any way. Cheer him up, immobilize him, whatever it takes to keep him out of harm.”
“Got it!” it said, hopping away from them.
“Is this your help?” Angeline strolled along the street with Colin.
“I can’t think of anything else. What do you suggest? Just tell me, please, and I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to help you!” Colin said.
“We need to abandon this life. You can’t cheer people up and expect to save them if they hear they are worthless everywhere. We are alone in here. Even though we fight to keep together, the pressure around us is too strong, it tears us apart. There’s no point in living this way.”
“I know, I know. You’re thinking like this because the world is really messed up right now. I’m trying to fix it, OK, I want to help. I am your friend, we are in this together. I already said I love you—”
“You say that like it makes things better,” she said.
“Ah ... I’m sorry.”
Angeline locked her eyes on Colin, a security camera following a suspect. He didn't react to her teasing, didn't fight for her, didn't show his readiness to create a new world together. But he peeked through windows, knocked on doors, searched every street and small alley for his father, avoiding contact with her, ashamed and scared, lost in the game.