al things considered — when i post my masterpiece #1325
first posted in facebook july 25, 2024
arnold schoenberg -- "the red gaze" (1910)
"i have never seen faces, but because i have looked people in the eye, only their gazes" … arnold schoenberg
"if it is art, it is not for all, and if it is for all, it is not art" … arnold schoenberg
"i feel the air of another planet" … stefan george
"der mittelweg ist der einzige, der nicht nach rom führt" … arnold schoenberg
"there is still plenty of good music to be written in C major" … arnold schoenberg
"if it is not rome, it is not for al, and if it is for al, it is not rome … yet there is still plenty of good music to be heard if you see major lance" … al janik
There are no spoilers but lots of subtle references to the web comic "Leviathan" . I wanted this to be a lighthearted romp for Charon but could not let slide her troubled past.
Splash splash
“Vroom Vroom”
Splash splash
“Vroom vroo…”
Charon paused, and turned her ear to listen
Knock Knock, and a faint voice “Room Service”.
She quickly stood up in the bath tub w/ paddle in hand, looked at it, not knowing what to do, laid it across the towel rack above the toilet.
She walked barefoot to the door, leaving a trail of puddles behind. Once at the door, she looked through the peephole. On the other side was a young bell hop holding a domed silver tray and rocking on his heels. His head turned sharply towards the door, looking at the peephole said quizzically “room service?”. Charon answered back, “leave the mouth items by the door, no speaking, back away slowly”. The young man tilted his head, smiled and thought to himself “play along, its only a summer job, I don't need to impress anyone”. He did as directed, laid the tray down. Stood back up, tilted his bellhop hat forward, made finger gun motions and stepped backwards in a cross step until he was out site of the peep hole. Coincidentally, once out of each others site, both said quietly to themselves “what a strange person”. Charon waited, ensuring the hallway was empty of backward walking finger gun totin bell boys. One can never be too cautious. She opened the door and reached down to retrieve the tray. At that moment, a older couple walked by, very touristy by their looks, he wore a flower print button up short sleeve shirt and she a colorful kaftan. Charon eyed them cautiously, and curiosity started to get the better of her.
Why were they staring?
Why did they break their stride to edge along the far wall as they walked past?
Why did she say “Close your eyes harold”
Charon took the moment in and then addressed a memory that seemed to be trying to get her attention. Like a kitten wanting food, or a dog needing to go for a walk…something nagged at her. “Aha, Virgilius’s voice, now its coming to me” He said, “do not forget modesty when in public”. At that point she squealed, stepped back into her room, closed the door, leaned her back on it holding the tray. She waited a good minute, before looking through the peep hole again. The coast was clear, all that was left were remnants of that embarrassing memory.
Charon, made her way to the Bed and sat the tray down on the desk next to it, picked up two small packages by her suitcase, then back to the bathroom putting the gifts on the counter. She surveyed the scene, gasped and quickly reached in the tub to rescue Bongy who lay face down in the water. "Mommy said never play in the bath alone" and gave him a slight scold w/ her finger. She then pulled him close to her chest and squeezed hard, nuzzling her face into his. This caused more water to spill onto the floor. Unperturbed by the puddles at her feet, she set bongy a down on the counter, quickly got dressed. Her robe slipped overhead easily, the mitre atop her head then addressed the packages. One was wrapped in plain brown paper, it was smaller than her fist. The other was shiny w/ a bow on it, the size of the small box she kept her mementos in on Memphi. She opened the shiny wrapped gift first. Inside was a pink box labeled "Macy K". She lifted it open, there were tubes, and small round cases all hues of pink, red and some skin colors. Inside was a card.
Charon grabbed a red tube from inside and applied its color to her face. After a few minutes looked at herself.
She gave Bongy a stern look, "Charon sees the smirk in your eyes naughty boy". After a vigorous face wash she opened the smaller package. This one was from Virgilius. Inside was a necklace, with two stones, one blue, the other red and heart shaped. Between them both was a gold tag w/ family written on it. Charon liked this gift the best. She held it up to the light, admiring it, then brought it close to her heart and kept it there w/ her eyes closed for a moment.
"Charon does not understand the meaning, but it makes her happy".
She put it on, making sure it was tucked under her robe for no one else to see.
Once Bongy was good and dry w/ the hair dryer. She made her way to the desk and chair to sit and eat. Under the silver dome was a plate of delicacies. Many she had never seen or tasted before. Life on Memphi under Faust and Virgilius's care was bleak, lacking color and flavor. Breathing in deeply, this smelled amazing to her face holes. She reached for a bar w/ yellow and lime green layers. Gave it a smell and took a small bite. Charon smiled, her first in a while.
"When Charon grows up, she will try all the flavors in the world"
