I Want Real, Part 3
Posted on Wed 25th Sep, 2019 @ 12:22am by Ignatius Collins
737 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Front yard of Chlamydia Addams' Home, Deck 1554
Timeline: MD-4, 1430 hours
(Before)
"...Maybe I should tell you a bit about my family's background, so you can understand why I don't want to just plunge into obsessive love, no matter what I feel about your aunt."
Six blinked at her guest, and emulated her Aunt Chlamydia by taking a sip of tea to buy time in which to think. "You wished understanding, sir; I hope that my comments may be taken in that light. But yes, by all means... enlighten me. Who... are... you?" She only wished she could blow colored rings of smoke with those last three words. Or bubbles. Bubbles would be excellent, too.
"I'm probably the gray sheep of my family," Ignatius said. "I don't fit in well with them. I'm not elegant. I'm not hoity-toity--at least I hope I'm not; I can't stand people like that. Cocktail parties and small-talk bore me. People like you and your family interest me. You think about things. You think about things that matter. You don't sit around at the country club drinking martinis half the day, talking languidly about the summer regatta and debating who should be let into the country club this year. My brother does that. The term 'idle rich' was made for people like him."
Ignatius shook his head and sipped from his tea. "This is good! Thank you." He set his cup and saucer back down. "I decided I wanted to go out and do something practical with my life. Possibly, asteroid mining was taking rebellion a smidge too far, but I enjoy it. It's useful; it helps people. It's one reason why I like your aunt--she does beautiful work with her hands. I went to her website and looked up her online gallery. Some of her art is just exquisite.
"So, who am I? I'm the younger son of an old, upper-crust New England family from Earth. I love my family, and they love me, even if we sometimes can't stand being in the same room together." He smiled, but it faded. "I have ... relatives and ancestors of quirky and dubious character. One of these relatives is obsessed with his dead fiancee, whose portrait he keeps in his home. Whenever he finds someone who looks like her, he becomes convinced that she's the reincarnation of his long-lost Josette. So I am wary of this inexplicable near-adoration I feel for your Aunt Purulence."
"Sticks and leaves," Six said, taking another sip from her cup. "Mostly contributed by their Corvid majesties." She sighed, and said, as if reciting something half-remembered, "if you do nothing, Mr. Collins -- tea leaves thwart those who court catastrophe, designing futures where nothing will occur: cross the gypsy’s palm and yawning she will still predict no perils left to conquer."
She was decidedly not speaking as a six year-old normally would. But then, how many six year-olds normally held conversations with ravens? "So if I understand you correctly, you're saying, 'Go for the gusto' and don't let fear hold me back?" He gave Six his complete attention. She spoke to him on an adult level; he respected her enough to speak likewise. Another part of his mind, however, did a double-take. Sticks and leaves? Oh, well; he was drinking it anyway, and it didn't taste bad. He'd have remained silent had he not liked it.
As the little girl regarded Ignatius, it seemed for a moment as if there were someone else, something else, looking out through her eyes. Something unimaginably old, wise, and wistful. "I am saying that we are dead for much longer than we are alive, and when we rest in the cold ground, I think we would rather dream of the things we dared, instead of the things which we dared not."
"Why I went out into space, to begin with," Ignatius agreed with a slow nod. He let out a deep breath. "All right then. I'll go talk to your aunt."
Six nodded. "The quarter hour is past, and Sir, I free you. The lady you seek is within, and has no doubt barricaded the door with any number of heavy objects."
Ignatius gave Six a mischievous look. "Amusing as it might be to climb up the outside of your house to Juliet's balcony, I think I'll try my luck at the door first, anyway. I thank you and their Corvid Majesties for your hospitality and your wisdom."
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