Seekno's Dream

It was 2069 and the world was spinning faster than it ever had before. Cars zipped around without a pilot to navigate them. A segment of the population resided in the VR world permanently. And with the mandated installation of the 5-pronged cylindrical ports on both arms, the coastal seawater people of the Bay were able to stay plugged in and connected at all times. Forever downloading and integrating the news, woes, and trials of the world. 

And yet, Seekno still dreamed. 

They were foggy and unclear. Which left her feeling out of control. And she didn’t need this. She had bills to pay. Downloads to register so they could connect to her account. At least rent was paid for her unit. One less worry among a list of thousands. 

Seekno visited her neighbor, who she affectionately called Auntie. Auntie was one of the few people she knew who still ate and drank things using her mouth instead of her ports. She would make lemon waters, brown warm liquids, and eat green leaves right off the land. It was such a shock to other folks who believed what the billboards read. You couldn’t walk two blocks without seeing a huge sign that read “Don’t be dirty. Get healthy sanitary nutrients into your body quick and fast.” These words framed a photo of a 5-pack of 5 inch tubes with bright yellow liquid. Perfectly suited to connect to anyone’s ten ports. 

“Auntie, what am I to do about these dreams? They got me feeling all outta of myself. And I don’t even remember what is happening,” Seekno explained. 

“Drink this and swallow this,” Auntie said shoving a quart of lemon water and chopped dark green leaves into Seekno’s hands. “And if you can, let your ports remain untouched. First a couple at a time. And then all of them.”

Seekno left frustrated. Untouched ports. What a waste of time and money. Just leaving one alone would cost her currency she needed to pay for solar energy. But she needed to know. And so, when the night skies came, she decided to release one cord from her first port. Seekno drank 16 ounces of lemon water, ate a handful of the green leaves, and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come. 

The great black owl was soaring through the night skies. Flying over fields of grass, large rolling hills with spinning windmills, and twinkling lights from the city fading in the background. The owl began flying over neighborhoods. So many homes. Seekno had no idea where the owl was, but it felt a little familiar. In some of the homes, people were dancing, laughing, eating. Other homes were quiet and still. There was a home that had something strange in the back. It looked like purply blue spirals sprouting up from the ground. Mini black holes. A vortex of some sort.

Seekno jolted awake. Her ports where lighting up. She had twenty backlogged messages from her partner trying to get her to sign this deal. It would give them a week’s work of content streaming. Uggghhh, I don’t have time for this right now, Seekno thought. She needed to see more. Seekno released three more cords, took a swig of lemon water, closed her eyes, and it wasn’t long before she was back with owl. 

Now, the owl was circling the purply blue vortexes that towered high over her. The owl flew around and around as if looking for something. It then landed on a small child and opened its mouth. To Seekno’s surprise it started talking. The child nodded their head and then began to sing. Seekno couldn’t hear a thing. 

Everything was dark when she opened her eyes for a second time. Releasing four cords from her ports definitely had the lights out. She checked her inbox feed. Now her Mama and Papa were doing the most. Damn, I guess their shit got shut off too, Seekno thought. What is going on with her? Why this owl? Why can’t I just see? Why can’t I hear anything? What is wrong with me? What is going on inside my mind? She wasn’t even dreaming like this before. Seekno reached for the tube of liquid named GanjaShroom. She let it twirl around in her hand and between her fingers. She just needed things to quiet down for a minute.  But as the winds from the night skies came in she heard Auntie’s voice. “To see, release all of this. All of it.” Seekno stared at her ports. Four of them flat and free and the other 6 with cords hanging from them connecting her to the port box. These six cords alone kept her connected to tens of thousands of people, connections, and apps. What would happen if she just let it all go? Would it be the end everything? Rolling her eyes, Seekno put the GanjaShroom tube back. 

“Ok. Ok. I’ll do it. Just for a little bit,” Seekno said as she unlatched the remaining six cords. She laid on the cool hardwood floor reveling in the feeling of not instantly receiving countless downloads, alerts, uploads, and messages. There’s space here. There’s room here. 

The owl was flying again. And this time, Seekno could feel the expansiveness of what that felt like. The owl was soaring through the night, passing over so many homes. After passing several homes without stopping, a home came into view with the same purply blue spirals shooting up like beanstalks. Again the owl flew down, straight into the center of the swarm of vortexes. It was clear now. These pulsating energies were draining the people who lived there. The owl landed at the feet of the vortexes and began moving. It took three steps forward and flapped its wings three times. It took another three steps to the side and flapped its wings another three times. It became a rhythm. A song. A dance. Until Seekno began to see the shape of the owl morph, sprouting chestnut brown legs and arms, a round bottom, small hanging breasts, a round oval face, and long locs. The wings were the last to go. Shrinking slowly even as the owl woman kept moving and swaying. Her hands stretched to the skies as if hand painting the night was her life’s work. 

The vortexes drew their attention to her and now surrounded her feet. What had took over the house, had shrunk down and was now no more than a couple of feet. A nearly full moon shined directly on the face of the owl woman. Her eyes shined like polished crystal quartz and skin glistened like the stars of the deep night skies.

“Look beyond the vortexes that keep you from the messages within. 

Look beyond. 

Look beyond. 

Look beyond. 

And trust that I am you. And you me.”

The owl woman grasped Seekno by the shoulders. Slowly squeezing them, then letting her hands fall from her shoulders and caress her arms and massage Seekno’s ports. “Are you ready?” the owl woman asked as she pulled Seekno close. It was intoxicating to be this close to this creature of the night. Who was this woman? Seekno didn’t know when the tears started to fall. But she felt the owl woman’s hands gently wipe them from her cheeks. Breathing deeply, Seekno nodded. 

“Trust Seekno. Trust that I am you. And you me.” The owl woman began to sway back and forth, massaging Seekno’s ports. They became warmer and hotter. Locked in an embrace, it wasn’t long before the ports were engulfed in flames and Seekno began to sprout wings.

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This story originally appeared in the zine Tales from the Garden of Vortexes. Get your copy by visiting: https://www.etsy.com/shop/anikweens :)

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