My
olfactory receptors register the chemical composition of rotting food. It’s not
the same as smelling, no matter what the pamphlets say. I scan the ground and
spot the discarded wastopaneer, its surface covered in wriggling black flies.
Perfect.
I head toward the ocean, my feet sinking into the slush of damp sand. According to my internal processor, sand is coarse and unpleasant. My skin only tells me that it’s the consistency of mud when wet. I hate being a synbatec organism.
The wind carries my name to the microphones embedded in my skull. “Akira!” It is faint beneath the roar of the waves, but I’m enhanced, so I hear it anyway. I turn and spot Nozomi running toward me, worry on his face. Though I don’t want to, I wait for him.
He reaches me in seconds and tightly grips my shoulders. “You don’t have to short-circuit just because you’re bored, Akira. There’s got to be something that makes you happy.”
“I’m not capable of experiencing emotion the way you do, Nozomi.” I pull myself from his hold and step into the sea. “There’s nothing for me here.”
I close my eyes as his face falls. The waves surge around me, swaying my body with their movement. My eyelids glow red as the sun rises, and I shiver. When did the water get so cold? I freeze, keeping my body rigid as the realization hits. There’s a thudding in my chest, a sensation I instantly recognize as a heartbeat. My eyes fly open.
“Nozomi,” I gasp, “I’m alive!”
He laughs. “Of course you’re alive.”
I shake my head and grab his hand, laying it over my heart. His eyes widen. “I’m alive.” I taste the salt of his tears as he kisses me, and we tacise the universe together.
I head toward the ocean, my feet sinking into the slush of damp sand. According to my internal processor, sand is coarse and unpleasant. My skin only tells me that it’s the consistency of mud when wet. I hate being a synbatec organism.
The wind carries my name to the microphones embedded in my skull. “Akira!” It is faint beneath the roar of the waves, but I’m enhanced, so I hear it anyway. I turn and spot Nozomi running toward me, worry on his face. Though I don’t want to, I wait for him.
He reaches me in seconds and tightly grips my shoulders. “You don’t have to short-circuit just because you’re bored, Akira. There’s got to be something that makes you happy.”
“I’m not capable of experiencing emotion the way you do, Nozomi.” I pull myself from his hold and step into the sea. “There’s nothing for me here.”
I close my eyes as his face falls. The waves surge around me, swaying my body with their movement. My eyelids glow red as the sun rises, and I shiver. When did the water get so cold? I freeze, keeping my body rigid as the realization hits. There’s a thudding in my chest, a sensation I instantly recognize as a heartbeat. My eyes fly open.
“Nozomi,” I gasp, “I’m alive!”
He laughs. “Of course you’re alive.”
I shake my head and grab his hand, laying it over my heart. His eyes widen. “I’m alive.” I taste the salt of his tears as he kisses me, and we tacise the universe together.
* * *
This was my entry for the third Campaign challenge. It meets all of the following requirements:
Write a blog post in 300 words or less, excluding the title. The post can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should show:
- that it’s morning,
- that a man or a woman (or both) is at the beach
- that the MC (main character) is bored
- that something stinks behind where he/she is sitting
Just for fun, see if you can involve all five senses AND include these random words: "synbatec," "wastopaneer," and "tacise." (NB. these words are completely made up and are not intended to have any meaning other than the one you give them).
- that something surprising happens.
My definitions for the words were:
-synbatec: a union of soul and technology, android-like
-wastopaneer: a breakfast wrap made of vegetables and paneer cheese
-tacise: thank profusely
-synbatec: a union of soul and technology, android-like
-wastopaneer: a breakfast wrap made of vegetables and paneer cheese
-tacise: thank profusely
I used root word definitions to make mine up, and as with the previous challenge, I got a lot of inspiration from the words. If you want to "like" my entry, I'm number 40 on the list. :)
J
PS It's come to my attention that the Comments section isn't always visible on my blog. I know that Blogger is no longer fully supported on Internet Explorer, so if you're using that, you could try changing browsers. Otherwise, the only other solution I know of is to click the post and scroll to the bottom. The comments should be displayed that way as well. Sorry for any inconvenience!
J
PS It's come to my attention that the Comments section isn't always visible on my blog. I know that Blogger is no longer fully supported on Internet Explorer, so if you're using that, you could try changing browsers. Otherwise, the only other solution I know of is to click the post and scroll to the bottom. The comments should be displayed that way as well. Sorry for any inconvenience!
