“I’ve been wondering” Usha started.
“What. You’re not supposed to make people ask for questions. What.” This was, perhaps, Virika’s pet peeve.
“Why don’t you go back to your older characters. Springa? Tapedeck? Revamp them.”
“I’ve sort of tried to? Its all too superhero-y. Believe it or not, I’ve been trying for more realism lately. Magical realism, sure.”
“It’s magical until it isn’t.
No, wait, it’s still be magical… nevermind”
Biralee was left with questions. Rina- Usha- had talked about Instances and Aliases and Memories.
She didn’t say how it was done.
Of course, even if Biralee was sure how to do it… Bringing another person into the world just to get rid of them again was irresponsible at best.
But maybe. Something smaller. Something that was supposed to be less sentient than a sister.
She sat on the bare floor, across from her television – closed her eyes and tried to focus. Not knowing what to focus on, she chanted, “Rubix cube. Rubix cube. Ru-bics cuuuuube.” The feeling in her belly was foreign. Square. Lumpy. She visualized pushing it out – and heard a thump.
It was something like a rubix cube. Sectioned. Skin colored and unlabeled. Warm to the touch. With a light squeeze if gave a less then satisfying squish. Her pokes – didn’t lead to any more feeling than the squish of skin around her fingers.
She checked her abdomen. If there had been any sign of the cube’s exit, it was already gone.
There was only one way to test the cube – she twisted a face. it resisted – like it could use lubrication – but moved, setting into place.
She ended playing with the cube on and off for several hours – an uncritical version of scientific experimentation – keeping it in a pocket, letting it soak in the bathroom sink, twisting and twisting and twisting.
The sun set, and she had run out of things to do with the cube, she sat and focused again. While she had not learned Usha’s control quite yet, she was able to let her abdomen sag now. It wasn’t very dexterous at the moment, but it made the square peg in a round hole question easier. And now that she thought of it, she was always worried that she wasn’t cleaning her navel out well enough. She poked out her tongue and gave the area a quick once-over.
She slid the cube into the fold of moistened skin and, not knowing any other metaphor, tried to swallow. And… if felt wrong. The cube dissipated into her skin, yes, but it did nothing to disperse – a lump hovered in her belly. No… it was pulling at her entire body.
Biralee gave a wicked grin. Maybe she could solve the cube now. She focused and twisted herself and twisted herself one direction and another – pushing her limbs around her core in arcs that ignored both bones and physique, again and again until the tension were gone. In relief she slept on the cool concrete floor.
The next morning she ate. Bathed. Did she follow it up? Did she take a break? Did she go to her sis…
No. No. Biralee was not just going to have she same experiences her sisters did. She would learn her own lessons, and make her own mistakes. And maybe she’d tell them later if she felt like it.
A Kitten. She had grown up like a kitten… It had taken her months to realize anything was out of place with her existence. She should reabsorb a kitten. Yes. She would. She promised herself.
She closed her eyes. Tried to focus on her old memories. Before she knew of words. Tried to push them into a separate form.
She heard a thump on the floor. She peaked… Almost hairless, dark brown skin, almost but not quite a sphinx.
A sense of dread filled her. No. No she couldn’t do it. She picked up the kitten held it to her chest – and it was gone. Even with just that moment, she had a strong memory on concrete on her paws. No. She couldn’t give up a part of herself like that. And she couldn’t take it away.
Something else. Some other experiment. Something… not here. Maybe it was the cat memories, but she needed to get outside.
The forest was something she needed. Away from cement, away from the university crowds, away from people who would get thoughts as she took her people clothes off, and different thoughts as she turned into a cat bigger than a cheetah.
She ran around and climbed trees and hunted- it wasn’t as fun as with the university cats, but she didn’t have to share and she was hungry. And when she was full of Muntjac, she rubbed her back on the grass and thought. If she could make shapes as a human, she obviously could as a cat. And if she could twist as a human, she obviously could as a cat.
There were two sorts of sphinxes.
It was a bit nitpicky figuring out how the human-dead cat body transition should go – more so because her phone camera wasn’t the easiest to operate with paws. Letting out her hair covered up a lot of awkwardness. And then it was the wings – first for shape, then for size as she tried to get off the ground. She got a good enough to climb up a tree then coast down it.
The sun was setting, and Biralee was ready for her first presentation. She took the elevator up to the rook of the appartment – carefully transformed with her bag over her shoulder, and floated down to their laundry-filled balcony.
“He he he” Biralee put some hiss into her voice – “To gain access to her clothes you must answer my riddles three.” she raised her wings to block the balcony door.
Usha, Sophie, and Vedika could not help bit be amused, examining the wings she had made. Biralee reached into her bag with her head and presented each of them with ribbon-wrapped scrolls.
“This is Easy – A chair, right?” Sophie was allowed access to her laundry.
Vedika wasn’t that much longer. “Water,” She said confidently. She was allowed access.
Usha was having issues. “A map?”
“No.” Biralee cackled.
“A Piano.”
“Noooo”
“A Lock?”
“Nuh uh. “
“Radio?”
“NO it says keys.” She was getting a little impatient. She really had gotten used to a proper bathroom and that big meal was starting to work it’s way through.
Usha held up the sheet. “It says nothing about keys. Remember your riddle” She bonked Biralee on the head with the edge of her hand. “That means it’s a piano.”
“Ok, ok, It’s a piano.” Biralee surrendered her spot, and made a run for the bathroom.
“You can fly, right. Does that mean…” Vedika leaned in as Biralee exited the bathroom, “Can I ride you?”
“We can try,” Biralee grinned, “But we have to try from the balcony.”
“Yessss.”
Before their sisters could ask what was going on, The two were at the balcony railing – and as soon as Vedika had glommed on, and Biralee spread her wings, off of it, and into the darkness
this was in drafts I needed to get it out
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