12-09-2007, 12:52 AM
Em gets up. He climbs up and over the couch and runs up the stairs. Fish takes off her hat and gives a little bow of thanks to her hostess. She walks up the stairs. Through the door on her right is a yellow room with too many pink flowers. Everything is frilled or lacey. She steps in. Em is lying completely naked on the middle of the single large bed. She turns around and walks out. She returns with her eyes shut with a large pink towel. Feeling her way to the edge of the bed, she throws it over him.
Fish puts her hat on the bureau and sleeps on the floor some ways away.
The violin plays.
Wisteria makes breakfast early. It gets cold before they are awake to eat it. Through the yellow rooms window is a view of the mountains. They are still several days walk away. Fish wakes first. She is still dressed. Her clothes are rumpled. Wisteria comments on them as she walks down the stairs. She offers her some clean clothes and leaves to retrieve some from her room.
Em wakes. He is barely dressed.
“I…” Wisteria has no words.
“Tell me truthfully you are unhappy at my appearance, fräulein.” He says. Fish shrinks and tugs on the brim of her hat. Wisteria smiles vaguely and turns to arrange pillows on the couch.
“Truly unexpected guests…” she says. Em nods and continues to walk down the stairs. Fish waves him back up angrily.
“Fool of flawed creature,” she says “, not seeing, not paying mind-thought and thoughtless.”
“People are what they are.” Says Wisteria, waving her off “, help yourself to the eggs and bacon.”
Fish does so. And Em joins them, though still lacking a shirt. They make small talk on weather. Em interjects with lewd comments, which are ignored. Fish has to back up and rephrase things sometimes. Wisteria has gossip from the city that she says lies over the mountains.
“There’s something going on over there. Some one named Add Nancy is stirring up something. A whole new religious movement. Something about finding ‘a path from the sky’. It makes one wonder.” She says.
“This way is not sweet opening arms to us, not our way.” Says Fish.
“Something like that, yes. I think it’s wonderful to think there’s somewhere better.”
“How?” asks Fish.
“I don’t really know. The man at the door was very vague about that part. He went on and on about collecting something for some one though.”
“For who?” asks Em.
“Well it’s being lead by some one they call the Leader—”
“That makes sense,” says Em.
“—and they said they wanted these things so they could distribute them properly. There’s a pamphlet around here somewhere,” she calls up toward the ceiling “, do you know where I set the pamphlet!” The violin plays a few short notes, a soft long stroke, then two notes that clearly say he doesn’t know.
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