There and Back Again. - 2. Chapter 2: PHI

PHI

The room is sanitized. Plastic. Gloves snap, lights adjust. The soft hissing of a door becoming air-tight it heard. Padded steps. The source of light is some sort of blurry fixture, above the covered object on a silvery slab. It swivels, shadows obscure the light for a moment; looking, probing, touching, learning.

“Is it ready?” A female voice asks. She is uncertain.

“I believe so.” The male voice is confident.

“We have the go-ahead from the Board to activate.” The female once again.

“Let’s do it.”

The lights dim and the padded steps seem to leave, echoing further away until the hiss of the doors is heard once more. Sight becomes slowly natural, the blur leaving. Celestial blue eyes stare at the panelled sterile ceiling, blinking only once.

An intercom buzzes into the room.

“Raise your hand if you can hear this.” The eyes swivel in their sockets, attempting to find the source of the voice. A hand raises, slender and pale. The fingers are neither feminine nor masculine. A perfect medium. The arm remains upright, the hand merely limp.

“Thank you, lower it please.” The intercom buzzes once more. “Raise yourself up and sit upright, we will send someone in.” The sheets slide off slowly dragging to the linoleum. The slab of silver, an operating table, is occupied. A pale youth sits upright, swivels its hips and then softly lets its feet touch the cold floor. It recoils a moment, the feeling…unnatural. Then it stands and stares blankly with beautiful blue eyes.

The door opens, a hiss is heard. The woman enters. The youth turns to regard her with a curious look, as she removes her face mask and smiles broadly.

“It is beautiful.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” The male rushes by in a white blur, “We need to hurry, before they get here.” He stands in front of the naked youth, his eyes traveling down the slender torso of pale flesh. It is perfect, truly a masterpiece. “Amazing…” he breathes. “This is the fourth attempt and it is…perfect…” Collecting his emotions, the man in white rushes to a nearby closet and produces underpants and a black coat.

“Put those on please.” The woman instructs. The youth turns: gracefully, perfectly. It puts the coat and the underpants on and returns to standing horribly still.

“We will be fired for this.”

“Arrested, probably. But we are doing them a favor.” The man in white begins to rush around the room, powering down the equipment until a singular monitor fills the room with a flickering blue light.

“Should we activate?”

“Yes.” The man and woman both stand before the youth. Curious blue eyes watch them, lazily.. The woman reaches out and caresses its cheek. It is perfect, so perfect. The face is smooth, a slight angle to the eyes, dripped in ethereal light.

“Ready?” The woman nods.

The man reaches forward, gently brushing away the soft brown mop of hair. Pressing the temple lightly, the youth goes rigid, blue eyes shimmer for a moment, shutting and opening as if to receive information.

Then nothing.

A unnatural wind enters the room. It smells of all things nice, but especially roses. The soft mop of brown hair shifted and moved; floating, as if in liquid. A smile crosses that vividly perfect face. The female sighed, her knees weak. The man turns to catch as she begins to sway in place.

The youth turns and slowly wanders away, and out. Soft fingertips touch everything, lightly trailing along the walls as the door hisses and opens at his arrival. Whatever is touched shifts as if the touch challenges all reality. Wisps of cool air trail from the fingers.

The man and woman in white are now naked, in the throes of love on the sterilized floor.

It travels from deep below to a roadway above, located in a small town somewhere. The air is cold but the youth does not mind. Slowly wandering down the sidewalk, it regards everything with a fascination and curiosity.

As the season is cold, the trees flux in confusion by its passing. They are unsure if it is time to die or begin anew, as if spring has arrived.

Fingers travel along the window of a diner, as a sigh crosses the air. Within the diner, clothes are removed and the patrons begin to explore one another. Steam slowly begins to gather and clogs the viewing through the window. The youth wanders off.

A young woman is sitting at the bus stop. She notices the youth across the street; the way the grass follows soft footsteps, flowers brighten in its passing. She gasps, a tension between her legs, her head thrown back in ecstasy. Her thighs slide from the bench as she crumples on the ground, writhing, a smile plastered to her face.

School is out and the youth travels through the park. The trees shiver in the wind that travels with it, shivering with delight. The lake ripples and the doors of the school burst open. The children see the air and feel the tingle, they drop their things and find the nearest person and exchange a kiss. Then another and another, as they roll in the grass with one another and jump around in their underwear; , boys and girls alike.

The youth moves on. Two young men stand on a corner talking of their uneventful lives. It travels past slowly, fingertips touching one of the young men. A moment of revelation shows one rushing for the other and embracing, their lips pressing together. Hands travel, explore, dip below the waistbands. One of them falls to his knees.

A storeowner notices and begins to shout. The youth turns and presses a finger to supple lips. The store owner is silenced and begins to cry.

The youth travels for minutes, hours, even days. Creatures of all kinds fall to their knees, nature revels in the presence of those blue eyes.

Everything is perfect.

Finally.