Siam Reap

Sihanookville

Chapter One: Down The Hatch

She was floating in a warm tea green sea, drifting slowly downward. What the sea consisted of she could not say for she had no trouble breathing it in as she did the salty cold oceans she visited so often in her youth. No, this was more of a misty cloud that enveloped her like a blanket and rocked her gently to and fro like a mother would a newly made babe. So comfortable was she that she shut her eyes and found, to her delight, the same yellowgreen colored clouds had somehow snuck in behind her closed eyelids. Shortly thereafter however, upon noticing that she could still see her hands in front of her, she understood she was not looking at her eyelids so much as through them. And when she opened her eyes she realized it was not just her eyelids that had become translucent but her whole body, for when she held one hand behind the other the places where they crossed became all the darker but one did not completely hide the other as she was used to. She giggled as she waved her hands back and forth in front of her face, enjoying the interplay of light and shadow. Thus she drifted.

By the by her feet found some solid ground and she put her arms aside to observe her surroundings. She appeared to be in a meadow but it was either a very big meadow or she was very small for the the grass that grew all around was at least as tall as she and the flowers that would normally be only knee high towered over her. The field also seemed to have the same translucent quality that she herself now possessed. Taking a seat on a nearby mushroom she pondered the situation. She hadn't pondered for very long however when she saw something moving about in the distance. She stood atop the mushroom to get a better view but all she could see were ripples emanating from the movement and occasionally, through gaps in the grass, a glimpse of something shiny sliding quickly past. But she could tell it was moving towards her and that it was moving quickly. And then it was there in front of her, a giant serpent, each iridescent scale reflecting an ever shifting rainbow of colors. It coiled itself into a spool the size of a house and stared down at her through unblinking eyes that appeared to radiate a strange light. Every couple of seconds it would flick out a split tongue the size of a playground slide and then retract it, tasting the misty air. Then hoisting its head high into the air it began to undergo an unusual change. It's face rounded out and small nubs appeared on its neck which quickly extended into full arms from which grew delicately formed hands and fingers. It's coiled base merged into a huge mass and then split into two legs upon which it gracefully sat cross legged. It's scales grew together and softened into an shimmering flesh, except for on the top of its head where they lengthened to form a sort of hair, although it more resembled feathers or the antennae of moths. Within a couple seconds the snake had been replaced by a gigantic man, glowing eyes still fixated upon her. She felt herself pitch forward and float upward involuntarily until she was level with the huge face. The man smiled a large toothy smile at her. His teeth looked sharp.

'Hello' he said without moving his mouth from the creepy smile. 'How are you?'

It seemed a strange question but most of what was happening seemed strange and she thought it wise not to upset the giant snake man so she answered politely 'Very well I suppose. And yourself?'

'I dwell eternally in the celestial bliss of the high heavens. Its nice.' His voice was that of a roomful of people speaking in unison. After a pause long enough to make her feel slightly awkward he continued, 'Is there something I could help you with?'

Really she just wanted to be slightly further away from those big teeth but that did not sound like the right thing to say. She became slightly nervous and self conscious but managed to reply in a tone that she hoped was not too shaky 'I think I was looking for something. But I can't remember what. Answers perhaps.'

'Well you certainly won't find answers without asking any questions. And I would advise you not to go trading all your questions for answers. Sometimes its better not to know, you know?'

She was pretty sure she didn't but she nodded anyway.

'I could show you your future perhaps. Of course I would have to make you forget it all afterward. So you don't go insane.'

She couldn't resist. 'OK, do that.'

'I just did.' The creepy smile widened slightly, if that was possible. She felt like perhaps he was having a bit of fun at her expense but was happy enough to let it slide so long as it kept him civil. As if he could tell how she was feeling he said to her 'Don't be upset. If you truly desire it I will share some of my wisdom with you.'

She questioned for a moment whether this was a good idea but good or not it seemed like a better idea than refusal so she nodded and replied 'Yes please.'

And then suddenly there was a light in her head and it was moving things around and opening up doors and spreading through her whole being and she understood everything because she was everything and everything was good and every cell in her body was releasing into a glorious orgasm of such complete bliss it took all her concentration not to be swept away by it.

She eventually came out of it, completely relaxed in an afterglow visible for miles. She found speaking slightly difficult. 'I ... uh ... wow ... I mean ... thanks.'

'If you like,' he offered, 'you are welcome to dwell with me here in celestial bliss for all eternity.' But something in his eyes said no, this was not a good idea.

'That sounds amazing ... and everything ... but this is ... a little much.' She was trying hard to focus. 'I should probably be heading on.'

'Suit yourself. Remember not to worry, you'll be fine.' And with that he gave her a gentle pat on the back and she was tumbling head over heels away from him. As he faded from view she heard him call out 'Tell your friends about me.' And then she was alone again.

Prelude: Eden

The garden was green and lush, a cozy little corner of existence for anyone innocent enough to be satisfied by a life of simple frolicking. To dance by day amidst the the fields of flowers, swim in the deep clear pools and to sleep naked under the stars, comforted by the warm embrace of ones partner. For what would you trade away such a life?

The answer:
Well, what have you got?

the crowd goes wild

She lay in her sweat soaked sheets listening to the hum of the rotating fan drown out everything except the sound of the crickets and the snoring of the boy next to her. the heat made her irritable and the absence of light made the usually soothing sound of the crickets an obvious target on which to vent her rage. she imagined herself running about, stomping on them with comically oversized boots, however this image filled her with a strange sense of guilt and so in an attempt to balance it out she imagined her band playing a huge concert where right at the climax of their last and greatest song a gigantic cricket leg pierces through the ceiling and mashes them all into a human jelly, the crowd goes wild.

writing is like fishing with a net, attempting to catch delicious thought morsels as they gush out in a terrible wall of soupy consciousness. its like reaching down your throat and pulling out your guts to preform some sort of divination or giving blood while walking in your sleep and looking in a mirror and seeing someone else's face looking back at you. sometimes its like giving birth but usually its more like taking a shit that just wont end. a couple times it was like speaking to god, but when i went back to read what i had written it was mostly incoherent gibberish. its never like really great sex, though i wish it was, but occasionally its like a good massage for all my weird issues so they shut the hell up and let me live my life. sometimes its like doing battle with every daemon that ever existed all at once and sometimes you get possessed by them and your head spins full circles and you vomit all over everything. it can be like being in a store full of knickknacks where everything you can afford you wouldn't take if someone paid you and anything you would actually want is out of your price range by like a million bazillion dollars. or like the time between getting something you want and actually using it while the rest of the world gets toned down in the excitement of future possibilities. or else its the power trip of molding reality to your will, creating and destroying like the world was nothing but dreams made of lines on paper. occasionally its like polishing a finely cut gem stone and seeing how it reflects differently off of each face to form a cohesive whole so perfect you can't help but be transfixed by its beauty. but not that often.

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