Danged Black Thing by Eugen Bacon
Author:Eugen Bacon
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781925760903
Publisher: Transit Lounge
As people went about their days, nursing or teaching or engineering or developing, Mum still cradling her wretched heart, we stole to what was once Buckâs Row, then a smoking crater, now a crystal tower full of exotic beasts.
There stood the tower, right where we left it. No one was going in; the animals were not coming out. But the place was wide open, no doors to lock people out. We stood at the threshold for a minute, the crystals on its outer walls shimmering and beckoning us in, and there was no sight of Uncle George or the rest of the Met.
âLook what I found.â The alien womanâs voice was a song, the sound of a bird, the music of the moon, playful in her pretty throat. Her lashy unicorn eyes swallowed us in their gaze. She stood at the mouth of the tower, arms akimbo. She took in our tunics. âAre you soldiers, then? Little Romans, perhaps?â
âWho are Romans?â we piped.
âGreat engineers, soldiers and constructors,â she said in her melodic voice. âThey lived in beautiful houses surrounded by slaves. They also killed people in a most terrible way.â
âWhat are slaves?â
âPeople without choice. But you two appear to have it in plenty, no?â She took our hands, âCome,â and guided us into the tower.
Inside it was like nothing we imagined. The animals were not standing at crystal windows and gazing at Whitechapel. They were out in the wild. Indeed, the tower was not a tower. It was a meadow swathed in lush green grass. It was vast land speckled with deeply blue lakes and some murky ones. This world bore a remoulade of creatures and a scent of something exquisite. It reminded us of Mum when she was light on her feet, buoyant, no mourning in her exquisite face, in her soft lips that kissed our brows to sweet sleep.
âMy name is Babirye,â the alien woman said in that dawn chorus voice. âAnd this,â the man appeared as if from a shadow, âis my brother Kato.â
âWeâre twins, weâre twins,â we piped with excitement. âAre you twins?â
Babirye laughed. Her big necklace of shells danced on her neck. âActually, yes.â She caught our interest on her throat. âCowrie shells,â she said.
We blinked for a spine-tingling moment, filled with a sense of anticipation. âAre you gods?â
âGrief, no,â she said in words like music.
âWhy do you bring them here?â It was Kato. He was arresting, full-voiced.
âThese ones bring no harm,â she sweetly sang, and skipped with the lightness of a sprite despite her flowing robes and headgear. âThese are Wanyama,â she told us, and waved towards the beasts that were scattered in the exotic wilderness.
We met Fisi, a spotted thing with small black eyes, standing ears and short back legs. He looked like a thief and laughed as we passed.
âDonât mind him,â said Babirye.
We met Tembo and her big long nose, big floppy ears, wide, wide legs. She had eyes so gentle. We met Duma, a sleek beautiful thing with a pretty long tail that swished as she paced around us.
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