The adventure: Enna finds a dragon that fits, and Tis discovers kin is deeper than skin.
The time: July 2999
The place(s): Theydon Bois, Essex
Prompt: #slapdashsat (view original tweet)
“Am I a real girl?” She listens to her whirrs & clicks, slides her pale hand over his black skin.
“Of course you are, sweetie. You’re my girl. You just need to blink more.” He adjusts a screw behind her ear.
” What did you do?”
“Oh, I just tucked you in, s’all.”
ambrosia #vss365
He pulls her gently along the street, her unblinking eyes greet dark stares, white hand in his. The whirrs and clicks don’t add up. Here, he says, look at this! Want some soda pop, sweet as #ambrosia? This machine is old as me, he says with boyish pride. What’ya ‘aving?
quizzical #scifansat
She points to the red can. He grins and fires in a dime. Coming right up, Sugar! She touches the machine. It does not whirr or click but something buzzes within. Come on! He jabs the numbers again. Another dime. A #quizzical look. He shakes it. She blinks as he swears.
elegant #scifansat
She spots it first. Elegant is her word. He steps back, his is a swear. The creature crawls from the back of the machine, between Coke cans and chocolate, and spreads its ferrous wings.
“Stand back, sweety.”
But the girl ignores dad, places her palm flat on the glass.
point #martialmonday
What is that? He says, trying to pull her hand away but she’s strong. Ma built her. She smiles, doesn’t flinch when the iron dragon pierces the glass, pierces the skin on her hand with the #point of its tail. No bigger than her heart, it vanishes inside her.
empire #scififri
He takes her hand from the hole in the glass of the #Empire vending machine, where the creature came through into her palm. Not a mark, not a scratch!
Cars screech to a halt. ZEBRA! Step away from the girl, shouts an officer, gun trained on him
She’s my daughter!
mischief #scifansat
She’s white, said the ZEBRA officer. We couldn’t afford… his voice trailed off as she looked up at him, rubbing her palm. Am I a real girl? She asked. Course you are sweety. He smiled, as an officer led her away. She’s my daughter, he said. She smiled #mischief at him.
And then they drove off with her, he sipped the tea.
You let them take her, take our daughter? Said his wife. ZEBRA have our little girl?
He nodded
She’s not real, said Tis
Don’t you talk about your sister like that!
She’s not even black!
Tis, please! He said.
draw #martialmonday
She’s y’sister! Said Dad, flinching even before she slammed the table, before she cried, My sister’s dead! You can’t replace her with a robot! #Drawing a sting of tears from his eyes.
aesthetic #vss365
Mum pushed Tis’s door open. Sat beside her on her bed. I know your sister’s gone, and I know #aesthetically she couldn’t be more different but…
Enna isn’t Anne, Mum! You need to let her go, too…
You don’t understand, Tis. She has Anne’s heart and…
She what?
pachyderm #vss365
Hey, Tis
Go away, Michael
Where you going?
Rescue my sister
But your sister’s dead!
The other one
She ain’t your sister, you said she’s fostered from some white family
Go away Michael
Where is she?
ZEBRA
You can’t be serious?
I’m #pachydermaserious, boy!