The Search for the Seed
Title: The Search for the Seed
Author: gracheness aka me.
Fandom: Original fiction.
Word count: 890- odd.
Summary: About the hopeless search for the seed. Not really story as such, but I've always liked this one because of the fantastic imagery.
Notes: First person. Written November 2003- but has been re-worked. buffy_kitten motivated me to post more stuff.
The Search for the Seed
As I look into the distance I thought I saw his shadow but it’s not. What was it? It was moving around suspiciously. I look down into my hand and find the tube of toothpaste I own, my last possession of home. Why toothpaste? What possible use could I have for toothpaste? More useful then photos I guess. I open the toothpaste and out flies some kid of bird. A phoenix? A Phoenix rises from flames, not a tube of toothpaste. I watch it fly off into the distance until all that remains is a spec. I’m disappointed to see it go; I wanted it to stay.
I stand here, distraught and searching for the arsonist. "Let me guess," a voice says from somewhere. "Your house burnt down?"
"Obviously," I mumble.
"Yeah, Mr. Glockenspiel’s been up to his old tricks again."
"Mr. Glockenspiel…?" I ask.
"Well, that’s not his real name..." it trails off.
I look around me and feel hopeless. Where did it go? It was over there before. "Are you still there?" I ask quietly.
"Why are we whispering?" It answers back.
"I don’t know," I say in a small voice.
"You have to do something about your house," the voice says to me.
"What?" I ask rhetorically.
"Build a new one..."
"You weren’t supposed to answer that," I say, peeved. I see a pool of water forming beside my house. I choose to ignore the irony.
"How ironic," the voice says to me. What does the voice sound like? It sounds like it’s coming form over there. "That’s the personality of a brick for you, slow burning, but once they’re burnt, they’re burnt."
"You’re not making any sense!" I run, run from my rubble.
I run and run and don’t stop. I keep running and find myself at traffic lights, but I’m not driving. The footpath seems a more desirable place for my feet. "Delightful night for a walk, eh?"
"Yes, sure," I answer, as I run from this person too. I see a woman walking an egg on a leash. I look down at her egg and raise a questioning eyebrow. "Some day this will grow into a chicken," she proclaims proudly. I run from her. I run past a petrol station. There are petrol hoses acting of their own accord. They are flying around; not spraying petrol at people as there are none there. They are inserting themselves and filling up cars that should be there. But they are not. I run. I run all night.
I don’t know where I’ve ended up. I look around me. I find an abandoned house. At this point, a squatter is a good thing to be. I will plant seeds and grow my own food. I walk to a nursery and buy a single eggplant seed. I plant it; I wait for it to grow. I feed it, I water it, I talk to it and give it all my attention. It just doesn’t seem to grow. I’ve waited out here for weeks to no avail.
"Find the eggplant seed and stomp on it." It’s that voice again. They didn’t make any sense before, but they’re right, I need to stomp on the eggplant seed. But I’ve forgotten where it was. I dig and dig until I’ve dug up my whole garden. I can’t find it, but instead I find an ancient relic. I sell the relic and start up a business where people can search for relics in my garden. Nobody knows I’m a fraud and that I bought everything from The Reject Shop.
My business becomes popular amongst little children, who love my toys. They like them better then the ones from McDonalds because they get the fun of discovering them themselves. They get to dig and get dirty and their parents see it as a valuable activity. I soon run out of toys and I substitute them for random objects I find lying around on the shelves of shops. My business starts to decline when the children find strange objects in place of toys. Some child cuts themselves with a knife and now no one comes to my fun park anymore.
Two men in white coats come along in a white van. They look friendly and smile at me. "We’re going to take you to a happy place," they say.
"But I am happy. I sit here and dig up relics.
"Where you’re going, you can dig up as many relics as you want,” they say warmly, yet condescendingly.
"Will I find shiny things?"
"Many, many shiny things," they nod.
Shiny things! They’ve convinced me! "Wait, don’t go!" the voice urgently rasps
"Why not?" I ask.
"You must stay here and stomp on the eggplant seed," the voice instructs.
I turn to the men and say "I can’t go with you, I’m needed here."
They grab me! "No! My eggplant seed! I must find it."
They take me to a white building and put me in a room with white walls. "Find the eggplant seed! You must find it! It betrayed you and didn’t grow."
I rip up the floor. I rip padding on the walls. I search for days, I don’t eat or sleep. I know I must find that seed. "I can’t find the seed!!!" I scream. The voice is no longer replying.
"I told you it would end this way."
Author: gracheness aka me.
Fandom: Original fiction.
Word count: 890- odd.
Summary: About the hopeless search for the seed. Not really story as such, but I've always liked this one because of the fantastic imagery.
Notes: First person. Written November 2003- but has been re-worked. buffy_kitten motivated me to post more stuff.
The Search for the Seed
As I look into the distance I thought I saw his shadow but it’s not. What was it? It was moving around suspiciously. I look down into my hand and find the tube of toothpaste I own, my last possession of home. Why toothpaste? What possible use could I have for toothpaste? More useful then photos I guess. I open the toothpaste and out flies some kid of bird. A phoenix? A Phoenix rises from flames, not a tube of toothpaste. I watch it fly off into the distance until all that remains is a spec. I’m disappointed to see it go; I wanted it to stay.
I stand here, distraught and searching for the arsonist. "Let me guess," a voice says from somewhere. "Your house burnt down?"
"Obviously," I mumble.
"Yeah, Mr. Glockenspiel’s been up to his old tricks again."
"Mr. Glockenspiel…?" I ask.
"Well, that’s not his real name..." it trails off.
I look around me and feel hopeless. Where did it go? It was over there before. "Are you still there?" I ask quietly.
"Why are we whispering?" It answers back.
"I don’t know," I say in a small voice.
"You have to do something about your house," the voice says to me.
"What?" I ask rhetorically.
"Build a new one..."
"You weren’t supposed to answer that," I say, peeved. I see a pool of water forming beside my house. I choose to ignore the irony.
"How ironic," the voice says to me. What does the voice sound like? It sounds like it’s coming form over there. "That’s the personality of a brick for you, slow burning, but once they’re burnt, they’re burnt."
"You’re not making any sense!" I run, run from my rubble.
I run and run and don’t stop. I keep running and find myself at traffic lights, but I’m not driving. The footpath seems a more desirable place for my feet. "Delightful night for a walk, eh?"
"Yes, sure," I answer, as I run from this person too. I see a woman walking an egg on a leash. I look down at her egg and raise a questioning eyebrow. "Some day this will grow into a chicken," she proclaims proudly. I run from her. I run past a petrol station. There are petrol hoses acting of their own accord. They are flying around; not spraying petrol at people as there are none there. They are inserting themselves and filling up cars that should be there. But they are not. I run. I run all night.
I don’t know where I’ve ended up. I look around me. I find an abandoned house. At this point, a squatter is a good thing to be. I will plant seeds and grow my own food. I walk to a nursery and buy a single eggplant seed. I plant it; I wait for it to grow. I feed it, I water it, I talk to it and give it all my attention. It just doesn’t seem to grow. I’ve waited out here for weeks to no avail.
"Find the eggplant seed and stomp on it." It’s that voice again. They didn’t make any sense before, but they’re right, I need to stomp on the eggplant seed. But I’ve forgotten where it was. I dig and dig until I’ve dug up my whole garden. I can’t find it, but instead I find an ancient relic. I sell the relic and start up a business where people can search for relics in my garden. Nobody knows I’m a fraud and that I bought everything from The Reject Shop.
My business becomes popular amongst little children, who love my toys. They like them better then the ones from McDonalds because they get the fun of discovering them themselves. They get to dig and get dirty and their parents see it as a valuable activity. I soon run out of toys and I substitute them for random objects I find lying around on the shelves of shops. My business starts to decline when the children find strange objects in place of toys. Some child cuts themselves with a knife and now no one comes to my fun park anymore.
Two men in white coats come along in a white van. They look friendly and smile at me. "We’re going to take you to a happy place," they say.
"But I am happy. I sit here and dig up relics.
"Where you’re going, you can dig up as many relics as you want,” they say warmly, yet condescendingly.
"Will I find shiny things?"
"Many, many shiny things," they nod.
Shiny things! They’ve convinced me! "Wait, don’t go!" the voice urgently rasps
"Why not?" I ask.
"You must stay here and stomp on the eggplant seed," the voice instructs.
I turn to the men and say "I can’t go with you, I’m needed here."
They grab me! "No! My eggplant seed! I must find it."
They take me to a white building and put me in a room with white walls. "Find the eggplant seed! You must find it! It betrayed you and didn’t grow."
I rip up the floor. I rip padding on the walls. I search for days, I don’t eat or sleep. I know I must find that seed. "I can’t find the seed!!!" I scream. The voice is no longer replying.
"I told you it would end this way."