Growing Lilies

“Ena!”

Lhexa held the rectangle pieces in her hands, trying to figure out how they went together. It only came apart into three pieces, and they seemed like they might fit together.

The night air and sea breeze flowing over her tear stained face forced her to feel the weight of those tears all over again. But, it also pushed into her head and heart that she was really here. She was really on the surface. She held the pieces of the rectangle and stood up, looking around. She was standing in front of a shop. Lights were still on inside, and in all the other shops along this path. But in front of her, darkness. The sand, and the ocean. Artificial as the beach front was, it stretched off into the inky blackness of the night, and she was just standing on the edge of it. 

Lhexa laughed. She couldn’t help it. Despair at losing her connection to Ena was still in her heart. Blood was dripping from her hand, though it had slowed somewhat. But she was here. Here! On the surface. And just like Ena had said, no one else was here. She was alone. The laughter just flowed up from inside her and bubbled out.

Ena really had heard her. Had granted her wish. Everyone was gone! She had this whole world to herself. And her heart was singing. As much with pain as love. It hurt. It was fun. It was exciting. It was painful. It was scary. It was everything.

She had to talk to Ena again. As she turned to enter the shop she had come out of, she saw it was a restaurant called ‘The Brig’. She had to laugh some more. That was dark, given the nature of the world she was on. But, if she was going to come out of anywhere, of course it would be there.

As she opened the door, she half expected to see the hallway full of the ingredients Ena had made her gather. Although, she was vaguely unsure if they’d still be there. After all, weren’t they components for the spell? None of them had made it to the other side with her. But she didn’t see them disappear either. It didn’t matter. The door opened to the inside of the shop. The smell of cooked food reached her, and a small sign said to seat herself. She did, and began messing with the rectangle again in the light. It did seem like the three pieces fit together. One front piece that was mostly just the screen, a flat rectangular back piece, and a smaller one that fit inside.

“Can I get you anything?”

Lhexa took a swing and her fist collided with metal. A small serving robot stood next to the table, designed to have an animated face holographically projected in front of it. The face made an exaggerated pained expression as the feminine customer service voice projected from it.

“Please refrain from harming the staff! That hurts!”

Lhexa took a deep breath. Right. Of course. So much that happened here was totally automated. How far did that reach…?

“Fish and chips. And a cola.”

The little robot bowed slightly and gave her a ‘smile’ then went off to fetch things. The real test is if it would actually come back with anything. Especially anything fresh and not hours old. Was the cooking all automated too? What else could she get away with?

Aha! The smaller rectangle had a patch of three metal sections that seemed to correspond with some on the inside of the main rectangle. And it slotted right in! She stuck the two halves together again and pushed. A horrible snapping sound came out as she mushed them together, but they did seem to snap into place.

She watched it and waited. But nothing happened. Lhexa let out a groan.

“I guess it’s broken after all…? That was so stupid of me! But Ena didn’t live in that box right? You can still see me, right Ena? You can still hear me? I just can’t hear you.”

Her heart was racing. She closed her eyes and listened intently, to make sure there wasn’t any kind of response from anywhere.

“Your food is ready Miss—- Ow! Please refrain from harming the staff! That hurts!”

The little robot had come back. Lhexa had swung again. The adrenaline was really flowing through her. She was jumpy. The inside of her head was loud. Loud loud loud. Her heart was on fire. It hurt. It felt amazing. It felt electric. Ena could still see her? She was free? On a resort/amusement park world? All alone? 

She took the freshly made fish and chips from the robot’s built in tray, and the drink as well. 

“Thanks.”

Lhexa pocketed her rectangle. She didn’t know how to make it work again. Maybe there was somewhere on this island she could get a robot to repair it? It was ancient, so probably not. But it was worth considering. Stepping outside, Lhexa took a breath of fresh air, and ate a fry.

She couldn’t hear Ena. But Ena would still be watching. Listening. Another deep breath of the sea breeze. Another bite of food. So much better than food in the prison. So much better than the diet she had to keep before then! In fact, even before being an idol… Lhexa would never have been able to come to a place like this.

She wandered down the path, along the string of shops. Most of them were selling food, but a few had knick knacks too. She had this whole place to herself. So what did she want to do with it…?

Spotting a little sign with a customer service light on it, she followed the indicated direction. It led shortly to a small customer service pole, and under it were five little robots. Presumably all waiting here for instructions.

“Customer service! Little robot?”

Four of them perked up. She pointed at one at random.

“You! Help me.”

The robot scooted over to her.

“How can I h–”

“I want access to the speaker system.”

“I’m sorry. Only staff are allow–”

“I’m staff. My name is Barny Belladelpha. Here’s my ID.”

She dug around in her pocket until she pulled out the ID that was thankfully still there and not consumed as part of her spell. The robot scanned the ID, and the holographic face in front of it switched to a much more utilitarian display showing the time and the time since this robot had last been maintained.

“Accepted. What can I assist you with, Barny?”

“I want access to the speaker system.”

“Very well. Which speaker system would you like to access?”

“Give me a list of my options.”

“Park, Residential, Resort, Prison, Staff Areas, Amphitheater, Coll–”

“All of them.”

The robot was still and silent for a moment.

“Access to all speaker systems at once requires a higher level of clearance than you are permitted.”

“It’s an emergency. No one has higher clearance right now.”

“I am unable to override the security protocol.”

“What about these?”

 

Lhexa removed the remaining stack of ID cards she’d collected.

“I’m sorry, I am unable to accept more than one ID from a single person.”

“This is a test of the security protocol system. I need you to tell me if any of these ID’s would have clearance to access all speaker systems on the planet in the case of an emergency.”

The robot was silent for a second to process before speaking again.

“Very well, Mister Belladelpha. The card provided for Miss Melphia has the proper security clearance.”

Lhexa looked at the cards one by one. Ynara Melphia was one of the two Lhexa had grabbed from the apartment Ena had pointed her to. Of course. Ena was still looking after her. She really was a goddess after all!

“Good job little robot. That’s me. I was previously identified as Barny Belladelpha as part of the security protocol test. My real ID is this one right here. Ynara Melphia.”

“Due to this very abnormal chain of events, I will ask you a security question.”

Shit. Shit shit shit! Why couldn’t things just be easy?

“What is your planet of origin?”

Lhexa looked down at the card she held in her hand. It had basic information on it, including an address.

“Um. Earth?”

“Correct. Thank you, Miss Melphia.”

Lhexa laughed. She laughed until she doubled over, and tears streamed down her face again. All that stress for nothing! She rolled over onto the ground and took a moment to look at the sky. The starless sky. She grinned up at it.

“Hey, what level of security clearance do I have?”

“You have full access to all systems, Miss Melphia.”

“Thank you, Ena. Now it’s my turn to impress you though, okay? Don’t think I didn’t pay attention to what you taught me about spells. Gather up components. Feel the emotions. Let myself be awash with them. Call out for the power. With my voice. With my heart. Direct it. Make the impossible happen. Well, I’ll do it. I’ll do it again. In pursuit of you. That’s what you wanted from me right? We’re gonna dance through the cosmos together, right?”

“I do not under—”

“Shut up.”

The robot was silent, and Lhexa laid there quietly for a few minutes. Then she reached over and grabbed another fry. What items did she need to collect? No. It was more than just the items wasn’t it? It was something deeper than that. What they represented. Even in an abstract. All the items from before had been things that had seen the outside more recently than her. And the knives? Maybe to cut through to the other side of where she wanted to be? Or maybe they had just been newly imported? Maybe it was both.

“I wanna go on a ride. Take me to the nearest ride. Actually, scratch that. Take me to the best ride.”

“Best is a subjective measur–”

“Shut up. Take me to the highest network reviewed attraction in the park.”

The robot instantly started moving in a direction. Lhexa jumped up and grabbed her food before walking after it. It matched her pace. Being in charge was convenient. She finished off her meal in a hurry as she followed the little leader.

Lhexa twirled her way to the ride– Apparently it was famous. Now that she was looking, there were signs everywhere.

The Worldsighter.

See it all in style.

Meanings on meanings. This had to mean something. It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? She hopped the barriers where the line was supposed to start, heading along the ‘employee’ entrance. Well, she had been an employee after all. Kind of. Unwillingly.

Even at this distance she could see the railing twisting into the sky, glittering against the atmosphere. It dipped in and out of sight along the horizon, with so many crests and falls that she couldn’t really tell how long it was. Top rated indeed.

She had left the robot behind. It was dutifully puttering along, taking the long way through the winding rows where a line would be. She wasn’t waiting for it.

The employee console had a button for ‘go’. She pressed it, and then tossed herself into a seat. There was a second where the machinery lurched, and then started forward. For a few seconds it was so slow that she didn’t bother pulling the shoulder brace down. She glanced down at her rectangle, squeezed it, and then put it into her pocket.

Then, suddenly, she was falling. Her ass lifted out of the seat a little from the sheer speed of the acceleration, and her shocked voice rang in her own ears.

“Oh shit!”

She grabbed wildly up at the brace. She had to push up on it as she descended in order to keep from flying loose. When the momentum finally shifted the other way, she yanked the brace down and buckled it, eyes practically bulging out of her head.

Now her adrenaline was really pumping. She could have died!

Lhexa’s hands trembled on the straps, laughing, crying. Her hand, the one she’d cut, hurt from squeezing so hard. She wasn’t sure if it was bleeding again, but she could hardly move her head to look, such were the g-forces acting on her.

When it finally equalized she was in the sky. She felt like she was floating, gliding with precious slowness towards the horizon, held by a single ribbon up to the highest point in the world. ‘Look’, the designer was saying. ‘See everything we built? Our victory against nature? A manufactured land floating on an infinite sea. And how beautiful.’

“How rotten.”

Lhexa laughed, kicking her feet in delight. So much pride when the core of the planet was literally garbage. She should know. She’d been the one cleaning it.

The ride kept her skyborne for as long as it took for the wonder to wear off a bit, and then she was diving again. This time she let out a delighted scream, confident in her safety, letting the world rush by her in all its artificial beauty. The ride wove past landmarks, above the highest towers, and beneath the sea itself. She saw brightly colored fish, sharks, and even whales. All imported. Maybe even just for this ride.

Wedli Corp probably fed them to keep them close to the right area. She wondered for a moment if they’d take off now that their meal ticket was about to run out.

Didn’t matter. Live or die. As long as it was interesting. As long as it was worth it. And it was worth it.

The ride clicked at its station and she stumbled off, laughing. Her legs were jelly. She laid down on the ground and laughed, and laughed. Real laughter. She hadn’t laughed like this in–

Well, maybe ever. Tears were rolling down her face. Eventually she rolled onto her side, snorting, wiping at her eyes. It was just such a relief. Such a joy. She was happy to be alive and that was– just too much!

When she finally managed to see through her tears, Lhexa went suddenly still.

The robot was there, puttering and stuttering about whatever it was on about, but that wasn’t what caught her eye.

Where she had been laying before she rolled over, there was… something. Where before there had been nothing. It looked like a piece of the world’s thinnest fabric, caught in a breeze, whirling slowly in place. She could see right through it– but then… it did have color? Maybe even texture?

She sat up and reached a hand out, and it went right through the substance. But she felt it. Actually, more than that. She laughed. More than the physical touch, what she felt was– was–

Fleeting Joy

Surprise

Dread

Hilarity

Awe

Bewilderment

It was emotion given form.

It was…

“Magic.”

The first time she had done magic, she hadn’t really seen any of it. It was armfuls of meaningful junk and… some emotion, and bam. She was here. Above. With the wind on her skin.

Now she was staring at it, and it was suddenly more real to her. Not a scavenger hunt for a friend. Not a fun little game. Power. Joyous power.

And it was hers.

With all the delicacy in the world she reached out and grasped the fabric, and to her surprise, despite reaching straight through some of it she was able to grab some kind of… center? Core? It squirmed lightly, and it was as if she was holding laughter in her hands.

She couldn’t help but smile. She couldn’t imagine not feeling it, the emotion running through her.

She wanted to make a spell. Right now. This had to be a sign, right? Worldsighter, and now this? After everything Ena had said?

Lhexa felt a song coming on. Like they used to when she was a kid. When she had loved singing. Before it became a job.

The lyrics were bubbling in her, but she didn’t let them out just yet. She had to get some things first.

---

 

She threw brochures on the ground. Every single one she could find for every place she could find. She let them scatter in a loose formation on the ground. There had to be two or three hundred of them. Enough for a stage. Enough for her to dance across worlds.

She thought she had the pace of it now, this magic. She had started seeing it when she had found her magic emotiony thing. She had thought she was missing something before, and she was! Magic had heart! It had– Feeling!

That was what made it special. In a world full of machinery, of numbers and diodes, wires and neurons and strict hard logic! Magic was power that broke the machine. It was laughter. It was tears. It was a world where the sun was beautiful, not for a moment reduced to a chemical reaction.

She saw it now.

All around her she had scattered things that had to be imported. This world couldn’t make half the things it required to function, usually. It was a resort, not a factory. Not a farm.

Plants, textiles, even merch. Most of them even said where they came from! Perfect. Perfect. When she was satisfied with her set dressing she stepped onto the brochures and bowed, sweeping her magic cloth in front of her like a cape. She whispered.

“Without further ado…”

Then she allowed her voice to rise, melodiously.

♬

You said I’d chase you, and it’s true.

♬

It was dawn, and she could just see the sun on the water. It hovered, like a single great eye upon her. Her only audience– Except of course for Ena. But she had to play in some direction and today it was to the sea. To the sky and the sun. To wonder.

♬

‘Cuz where you go I’m comin’ too.

I’ll build a bridge and sing a chime,

I’ll break down your door and shatter time,

I’ll write rules in love and blood,

Then break them down just because.

♬

She kicked at the ground, sending brochures flying. They were caught in the wind. In her emotions. She was a dust devil to herself, a vortex of magic, building and building. Some of the brochures landed, some didn’t. She danced across them anyway. Careless. Joyful. She held her magic imprint in her arms like a lover, wrapped her rectangle in it, spun, danced. As if she were in a ball room. As if she were alone in her old room back in the slums. No one was watching her. She never could have danced like this for an audience. Too off beat. Too raw. No polish, all feeling.

Perfect.

♬

Ena I might be a step ahead or a step behind,

Every dancer knows you’ve got to tow the line,

♬

She could feel that charge in the air again. She’d felt it before, but this time when it came a wide grin crossed her face. She knew it. She KNEW it! She was right! It was doing something!

♬

You said I’d find you and it’s true,

I swear you’re coming into view,

I see you now with eyes brand new,

Where you go I’m comin’ too.

♬

Her voice was thunder.

She felt it in her bones.

Deeper than that, even. If it were possible.

As the last words left her lips, she–