That Old Fight

The young man sat about, on his cloud. It was a decent enough cloud, he thought. Not that he had much to compare it with, since as far as he walked he'd never found the edge of it.

Yet he felt it was missing something. Some intangible need skirted round the edge of his mind.

He pondered on the nature of his existence, following stupid idea with stupid idea, never getting anywhere close to a useful conclusion

After a while, he had an idea.

"I seriously need to get laid," he thought.

The idea consumed him, despite him not really knowing what "getting laid" was. It carved deep scars in his mind, until eventually he became so drained that he slipped into a deep sleep.

He awoke in a beautiful garden, his white robes gone.

Looking around, he spotted a tree with a deep scar in the side, weeping sap.

He removed two leaves, and rubbed them on the resinous goo leaking from the bark.

He plastered them on what he presumed were the right places, and decided to explore.

After a time he heard a sound, not like anything he had ever heard before.

A lilting song drifted through the trees, pulling him ever closer.

You look for what you can't see,
they all laugh when they look at me.
We're alone, with a world deep inside.
It's true this is all about you,
I'm not sure what I can do,
to help us both to believe.

He moved out of the forest and into a clearing. An expanse of blue water span shifting refelctions across it's surface. In the centre, a small rock protruded, on which lay a woman, dark hair curling across the slick surface.

He walked forward, drawn into the water. His head dipped below the water, and for the first time he swam.

Well, this is seeming a bit too easy, he thought.

A small fish swam past, mouth sucking water in gulps. It turned slowly towards him.

"Don't knock it mate," it said, "you should try being in my fins for a while."

The young man shrugged it off, and swam on. His hand touched the edge of the rock, and he hauled himself up.

The first thing he noticed was that her lower half was a tail. Scaly, fins on the end. A bit like the fish. But above was beautifully human.

The woman cut her singing, and turned to face him. Deep brown eyes drew him in. Her features suggested mischief, an impish charm.

"H.." his words caught for a moment, "hello," he began, safely enough. "What's your name?"

"Sophie," she said, with a yawn. "Who are you?"

"Ummm," he said. "I've never had a name before."

"Strange boy. Where did you come from?"

"I was on a cloud, or something." the young man scratched his head. "I just woke up here."

"See you caught on to the leaves pretty quick." She examined her nails.

"Yeah," he said, "first thing I did."

"What should I call you?"

"I'm not sure, yet." he said. "Is there anyone else here?"

"Not that I've seen. Been here a while too."

"I'll know who you're talking to, then."

"Really? What do you do?"

"Oh, not much. It's pretty boring here, really."

The young man had a look around. A water fall ran into the pool from cliffs above. The forest surrounded the lake on all sides.

"Doesn't look that bad," he said.

"I can't get past the lake, though," she said. "No legs, see."

The young man smiled.

"Let's just go for a swim then," he said.

She looked at him, and laughed.

"Alright."

He took her hand, and the dove under the water.

The small fish swam into view.

"Just give it a go," it bubbled. "You've got the luck of the Irish, you two do."

They looked at each other, and swam across to the shore.

As they stepped out, Sophie's fin melted, her tail splitting and scales dropping away.

"Well, this is weird. Nice legs though," the young man said.

"Thanks," she replied, rubbing the last scales free.

"You want to have a look at the forest?"

She looked back at the rock. "Yeah, why not?"

They set off into the forest. For days they wandered, finding mossy clearings, eating berries and sleeping under the stars.

They awoke as the sun rose, and walked toward the edges f the forest to find breakfast.

"You know, I'm getting a bit bored with this," Sophie said.

"I know. Same thing every day," he replied.

After a time, they found themselves in a clearing. There were a few small saplings, but the feature was a huge tree at the centre.

The approached it, and looked up. Large round fruits hung from it, gleaming red and green.

"I want one," Sophie said.

"I wouldn't mind either. I'll see what I can do."

A couple of branches hung low, and he managed to hook one after a few attempts. He hung for a moment.

"You look like a monkey up there, you know."

Two of the fruits bounced on the grass nearby. He picked them up, and passed her one.

"You first," she said, smiling. "They could be poisonous."

"You're not funny, you know?" He took a bite. "Seem's alright. Pretty good actually." Another chunk split off, his mouth full.

Sophie took a bite.

The pair began to feel their legs weaken, and they dropped to the floor, laying side by side.

Their world disappeared.

They entered a dream, where all was black. At first all he could hear was Sophie's tears.

Sophie heard only his laughter.

Then the balance shifted, Sophie began to sing, and he began to scream, the blackness of the void engulfing him.

Shifting waters began to form around them, circling to the cacophony.

The waters broke, and they awoke to a world much more complex, one that would never end.

A world of choice, of infinity, of forgetting and remembering at will.

An impossible, imperfect perfection.