air and water

"Amy, have you got your wallet with you? How many credit cards are in it?" Sophie asked abruptly.

The question made no sense, and Amy stared at her. Sophie's thin arms were now shivering violently from the cold rushing water and the sun was going down soon, which would make now cool air frigid. "I've got five of them. Listen, I'll give you my wallet if you'll just get out of the creek and let me make you a nice hot cup of tea," Amy coaxed.

"Oh no, you aren't tricking me that easy, my girl. That is what the credit card companies want you to do, don't you see. They want you to have all those proofs of identity, all that identification cards, all those numbers. They tell you you will be you if you will just tell them your mother's maiden name, your social security number, your date of birth. They just want you to think you have a solid footing, a real identity. And then, when you believe them, they tell you that your identity is miscalculated, that there is a mistake somewhere. They whip the rug right out from under you and leave you hanging between air and water, between nothing and nothing, without even being sure of your own name."

Sophie raised her arms to pontificate at Amy and as she gasped out the last words, her legs slipped out in the current. Sophie's body shot down stream and Amy ran in after her. Amy planted herself against the smooth granite rock closest to the bank and held onto her grandmother's hands, barely feeling the difference between those hands and the swift currents of air and water.

Scraping her arms bloody on the rock, Sophie moved with the current just enough to bring her legs over to the lee side of the rock.

Together, they slowly manuevered through the spray to the shallower stream near the house, where the water flowed slowly, and onto the bank--making a definite break between air and water.

in water / breathe deep-- / understand / that there can be / no differences between / air and water / symbol / and symbolized

the word is / the sound / of water / dripping from/ ancient symbols / tiny particles / of merging / realities


Follow us all: Amy/Anna, Sophie/Yuki, Kit/Richard, minor characters or sift through water leavings and river journeys.