And the evening and the morning were the first day
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Date: 04/10/2018 Time: 07:00 EDT |
Outside the Hall of Science The Hall of Science is surrounded by sidewalks criss-crossing patches of greenery. The main entrance has big concrete steps where students somtimes sit eating lunch or resting. A circular area off to side has benches surrounding an abstract sculture standing in a walk-through pool that is turned on during warm seasons. |
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Cast: | |
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It's Tuesday morning, the morning after finding Maria through all the flash floods. Alma looks really haggard and spiritually subdued. She wants to be outside in the weather, in a built and tamer place. It's not flooding here. This is a patch of lawn with a ring of benches facing a silly concrete water pond with an abstract structure. She laughs at the absurdity of all the concrete around here. Farther out in the new wilds of the city more and more of it is pushed apart by the weather and plants. slabs in sidewalks get cockeyed. rivulets of plants start seeping across others. Jim flies on out to the university. Seeing her outside, he briefly perches nearby, before going to fly someplace where he can discreetly shift and walk back out. Note has been perching in the tree that looks over the bench where Alma is. She's watching over her. Note sees Jim walk by. She caws a hi, and then makes a mockingly gentle, yet quiet! she doesn't want to alarm anyone, rendition of <<hey everybody, there's a raven here. better watch out. nevermind, my mistake>>. Alma looks up at Note with a slightly quirked mouth, almost a smile. Jim looks around, and then right at Note, saying very softly in the Spirit Speech<<Well you had your Wheaties today.>> Then following that up with a "Good morning miss Alma." Note walks along a branch a little, and rubs her beak nonchalantly a few times. Like a "who me" kind of lalala who is this person I don't even know. She ruffles her feathers and settles down again. It looks like a few of them are blown by little gusts of wind that aren't really here. With Jim's "good morning", Alma looks up and says "Hey kid." Jim comes up near both of them, pushing his thumbs into his pockets. "I was coming by to visit your office but saw you outside. Taking a day off?" "Just the morning," Alma admits. "I had a really rough night." She swings a foot. She's still staring at that ridiculous concrete statue. Jim nods. "Sounded like it. How late were you out looking for her?" he asks, before turning back to look at the statue. "I hope that was made by a student." Alma laughs a little bit. "It's abstract," and admits, "I don't always get those." Then answers, "I don't know. I was so sleepy. I can't remember." She sits for a while, going over the thing again and again. Jim hums, and leans on the end of the bench, watching Alma. "Hopefully you don't have any classes or an ything today, in your condition, ma'am." "Huh?" Alma is confused, "I'm just brooding. I'm not throwing up or anything. Don't worry, I'll be okay." After a pause, "But I was really freaking out yesterday. I didn't know who to call or what to admit. I got information from her Math teacher, but I was too scared to tell him what was really going on. I thought about calling 911, but really, what could they have done? And then who knows what would happen after that. Do you know how freaking scary things turn?" She looks really unhappy, "And I kept wondering if official people found out I didn't knwo where she was that they'd take her away. Like, maybe someone would call child protective services. I'm always trying to hold it together. I got sick for a while, last year, you know?" She nods back at the Hall of Science. "I've got my gear in there. I only skipped the morning rounds." then, "What are you humming?" Jim watches her, nodding to her comment. "That's good, I reckon it was a terrible experience, but its good that it's over. I'm fine with you calling me about things. Sorry I coudln't help on account of being in Oklahoma." Then pausing. "Just humming wondering what you're thinking, but you just answered that." "It's okay. I found someone with a jeep." She looks thuoghtful at this, and adds. "Have you discovered that almost everyone is out to help you? I thought I was just paranoid delusional last year when I was sick, but then it came true. Like the universe and life and sometimse people are part of it all and out to help. Except it seems like it's gotten sick." She frowns, "I'm worried about you. I mean, I have so many teachers because of the whole thing. And you said you only got that church in Texas? So that's why I invited you to Maria's church. Like I said, I'm not a beleiver in all that. I'm working out my own things, but I go with her and sit there and kind of commune with everything. I mean, I do that in my own places too. In my own way. Maybe you feel the same way, like you mentioned the Gaia hypothesis. Mary could be like the world for you, maybe? Do you get worried about things falling apart? the health of the world? I found out yesterday that sometimes people can stop existing. or maybe it's rather--they can not have existed to bgin with. And when I found that out I got home as fast I could to make sure it was still there. And then I waited for Maria to come home to make sure *she* was still there. And she didn't" Jim shakes his head. "I don't mean the Gaia hypothesis, ma'am. I mean something else when I use that word." he clarifies. "Gaia in the Corax view is so much more than Mary is in the Catholic view. Things are falling apart ma'am. But we're doing our best to stop it." Alma nods at Jim. "I'm trying my way too. following edges and boundaries. Cities have mozaics I didn't even know before I got here." She takes a deep breath. "Thanks for fighting the good fight. I'm tending things here too" she touches her head and then waves a hand around to include everything aruond them. "Well, I'm gonna go now. But before I go, don't be surprised if you get a lot of texts from someone. There's a post doc here who is interested in the work we're doing. I haven't got all the paperwork through, but I wouldn't let that stop you from chatting and brainstorming. All our work is open." "Take care." | |
