Where'd You Park Your Spaceship?, page 31
He comes from the left.
He’s wearing orange today. Orange pants, orange shirt,
orange sandals, orange everything. Except for that green
stone in his necklace.
I’ve stopped wondering how Dill Tudd finds me.
Or why we meet up when we do.
Or how it all works.
Here he is.
Again.
I’m glad to see him.
Hello Dill Tudd.
Hello Heen Gru-Bares.
I get right to it.
Dill Tudd, can I ask you a question?
He stretches out his hands in front of him.
Do you know why I wore ORANGE today?
In my previous life-also known as the first few times I
talked to him-I would have been so irritated by this
response. By how difficult it is to have a straightforward
conversation with him. Now, I go with it.
No. Why did you wear orange today?
Because I knew you’d have a question for me.
But that doesn’t explain why ORANGE-what does
ORANGE have to do with asking questions?
He smiles like an old man who has seen it all.
Oh Heen, we have so far to go with you.
I agree.
Who’s WE?
He breathes a sigh of relief.
Well, now you know how I feel.
If I wasn’t already coming undone this back and forth
would have finished me off.
So can I ask my question?
I am ready, feel free to proceed.
He says this as he gestures to the leaves above us. We’re
walking under a canopy of eucalyptus trees. There’s a
light breeze blowing through. The branches sway, shafts
of light coming and going.
Beautiful I say.
It is Dill Tudd replies.
So beautiful! A voice behind us.
A woman’s voice.
I turn.
It’s her.
Heen…?
She says it like we met once a party a while ago and
haven’t seen each other since.
She catches up with us.
What to do.
Play along with her? Let Dill Tudd know that I don’t know
her? Tell him that she was in my bedroom last night but
we’ve never properly met?
Yes… I say it hesitantly, like I’m trying to recall where we met. You got me, Heen here, and you’re…
I try to make it awkward so she’ll see that two can play
this game but Dill Tudd has no problem doing his own
thing.
Well hello, what a pleasure to have you join us on our
stroll.
He offers her his hand, she starts to shake it, he places
his other hand on top of their two shaking hands, she
then places her other hand on top of their three hands.
They do this in front of me.
We come to a stop.
She’s all smiles.
Well, aren’t you wonderful. I’m Noon Yeah.
I turn to her.
Noon Yeah?
I say it like it’s a question.
Dill Tudd laughs at this. Oh Heen, you have such a
charming way of acting like all of this is new.
Noon Yeah gives him a knowing look.
He’s does, doesn’t he? Like it’s all just happening to him-like he’s floating along down the river just letting the
current carry him along-when, in fact, this guy doesn’t
MISS A THING! She taps my arm. HE IS ON IT-as sharp
as they come!!!!
This is exactly the sort of off kilter chatter Dill Tudd loves.
Well, if you are a friend of Heen Gru-Bares, then let’s
dispense with the formalities and assume that we have
been friends the whole time and we’re just now finding
out about it. I’m Dill Tudd.
I put my hand on Dill Tudd’s left shoulder.
He actually means that.
And to think-Noon Yeah looks up and around-we finally
meet under this stunning canopy of eucalyptus trees.
Dill Tudd steps to the side of the path and touches the
trunk of one. And not just any eucalyptus-I can only
assume these are Tasmanian blue gums-
Noon Yeah nods in affirmation. Definitely one of my
favorites-I love how their flower buds are arranged in
groups of three and SEVEN.
She looks at me and winks.
She is terrifying.
I look away.
Dill Tudd has a question for her. Do you know what their fruit is called?
Noon Yeah does. I believe they’re called GAMNUTS.
Is there a better word on any planet anywhere? Dill Tudd
asks. Heen, have you ever seen GAMNUTS?
I have not seen GAMNUTS I say with as little enthusiasm as I can.
Noon Yeah points to a branch above us. Notice how the
more juvenile leaves are whiter and a bit waxy but as they
mature they darken-
The contrast gives the canopy a texture and dimension-
Like a tapestry-
Like a tapestry, so well said.
They are lost in their tree talk.
I just stand here. Watching.
My goodness Noon Yeah, you do know your trees…
She sighs with affection. You know what I love most about
them?
Dill Tudd is so into this. Let me guess: the fire and the
pods?
YES! She practically shouts it. How did you know?!
Dill Tudd waves this away. How would I not? It’s
incredible!
I totally agree.
They are interacting like they’ve been friends for a hundred
laps. I don’t know how they do it-how they connect so effortlessly. I don’t know how to do that.
Fire pod thing? I ask.
I am so irritated and unnerved and anxious but suddenly
curious.
Should we tell him? Dill Tudd asks Noon Yeah. Like
they’re in on a conspiracy.
We should tread carefully here, I don’t know if he can
handle it. She says this deadpan.
Dill Tudd is thrilled. Exactly. Because once a person possesses this knowledge…I mean…let’s be honest-
Noon Yeah jumps in There’s no going back.
Right! Dill Tudd draws the word out. He pats his necklace. Because once you see-
You can’t unsee.
And once you taste-
You can’t untaste.
These two are literally finishing each other’s sentences
before my eyes.
TELL ME ABOUT THE FIRE PODS!!
I yell. I recover.
They barely acknowledge my flare up.
Noon Yeah steps close to me, hooking her arm through
my elbow.
She looks over at Dill Tudd.
Feel free to stop me at any point.
She looks back at me.
Our faces are quite close.
These trees don’t really burn-they actually need fire. They
DEPEND on fire. Fire frees the seeds from the confines of
the pods so that they can be buried in the soil and then at
some point in the future RISE UP OUT OF THE GROUND.
It’s the heat that makes all that new life possible.
She’s wearing a red top. It is thick and appears to be
stretchy. Her skirt is also red, a deep red close to the
color of blood. I wouldn’t think that these two shades
would work together but they do. They really do. I catch a
whiff of mint on her breath. She isn’t wearing a head band
today, just a bit of string bringing her hair together in back
in what I believe is called a PONY TAIL. Does that name
have something to do with horses? She radiates energy. It
pulses, it pops, it pours off of her. She’s like a force field.
Or a storm.
A sniffle.
Noon Yeah and I turn to Dill Tudd.
He’s wiping his eyes.
He collects himself.
That was so beautiful-not only was it botanically precise, it
was simultaneously poetic and succinct. You capture the
essence of the GLOBOLUS with such brevity AND depth.
What a gift you have given me. Thank you.
He is genuinely moved by her little speech there about fire
in those pods.
Dill Tudd seems to be missing the protective system that forms most of what I know to be me.
He collects himself.
Well, friend-and new friend who has already become a
dear friend-I must go.
So soon? Noon Yeah asks.
Where are you headed? I ask.
I have never asked him this before.
It’s time for me to let the dogs out he says.
He gives us each his Dill Tudd bow, and then he heads up
the trail.
Noon Yeah? I say to her.
Yep she replies.
Noon Yeah?
I try to sound as cynical as I can.
Again, yes.
NOON as in the time of day, YEAH like YEAH WE WON
THE GAME!!! YEAH IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! Of all the
names you could have made up, you took those two
words and attached them together and that’s what you tell
people your name is?
I don’t do aggression very well.
That’s my name.
She’s remains very calm.
Okay, yeah, when you’re meeting random strangers like
Dill Tudd on a job on a planet that you’re just visiting-but
that’s not your-you know-name NAME.
She is totally unphased.
It is my name NAME.
We’re walking up the hill and out of the woods.
You call yourself Heen, right?
I do.
You don’t make up some other name for the job-
No. I did once. But it didn’t work.
What was it? She leans in and smiles. What name did you
give yourself?
I stammer.
Too embarrassing.
Oh come on, tell me.
No way.
She fake pushes me. Tell me!
That’s it-that’s her right there-that’s the thing. She FAKE
PUSHES ME like we’re long lost friends who are always
messing with each other. But she’s a SIGN 7 and she has
suddenly appeared out of nowhere and she snuck into my
flat because she’s tracking me for nefarious reasons I can
only begin to guess at-
She’s light, but she’s also dark.
And she wants to know what name I gave myself that one
time I used a fake name.
I was young. New on the job. Trying to figure it out. There
was so much in training about not letting them know the
real YOU. How to be yourself and do a job in which you
can’t really be yourself, etc etc. Basic SERIES 5 issues
right there-
You’re stalling-what was the name?
You’re not going to let it go, are you?
That is correct, I will hunt you down-
You already did.
Good point. I did.
I might as well tell her.
Soars.
You told them your name was Sores? Like SORES on your
body?
No, no-
Infectious, pussy open wounds that won’t heal-
Well, see, that was the problem right there! I was thinking
FLYING-S-O-A-R-as in SOARS LIKE AN EAGLE. Get it?
Gliding through the air, weightless, above it all-I thought it
would be fun to have an inspiring name-
But people heard SORES. The other kind.
She really enjoys this.
You’re laughing at me.
I am. I am laughing at you. To your face.
She’s wearing black boots. Sleek black boots. They look
like a thick sock with a loop in the back and a chunky,
knobby sole. Where in the worlds would you find boots
like that?
So you can see when you say you’re Noon Yeah I have my
doubts.
Okay fine. But I actually am Noon Yeah.
Your parents named you Noon Yeah?
What is it with you and my name?
Names are important!
They are…?
Of course!
HEEN is important? Heeeeeeen?
No one has ever asked me this.
It is to me. It’s my name.
Got that. But what does it mean?
I stall. I squint. …Mean?
Yes. Not a trick question. Where does it come from? What
does it represent? Why did your parents pick that name
out of all the names in all the worlds?
I never asked them.
Up until this moment in my life I would have told you that
no one has ever gotten under my skin faster and with
greater intensity than Dill Tudd. But this woman. Noon
Yeah. This woman in these boots has managed to bore
her way ferociously deep into my psyche.
So according to you, names are important. That’s why you
are SO insistent on knowing if Noon Yeah is my real name.
And yet you don’t know the first thing about your name.
We’re almost to the top of the hill.
I have no idea where we’re going.
I stop and turn to face her.
That’s a good point.
She pumps her fist like she just scored a goal. I don’t follow.
All I said was GOOD POINT
You did. That was a big moment for us.
Us?
She looks around.
Yes. Me and you. But YOU in particular…
I leave that one alone.
We reach the top.
There’s a bench.
There’s always a bench on Firdus.
I sit down. The view is amazing. Out over the top of CIRCLE 3 to a small lake and then the plain beyond it. I have a thousand questions. I tell her this.
I have a thousand questions.
Excellent. Fire away.
She’s pacing back and forth. I don’t like it.
Could you please sit down?
She stops pacing and examines me.
Not yet. I haven’t completed the assessment.
I hate that she just said that.
The assessment?
She continues pacing, ignoring my question.
It’s awkward. I don’t know whether to ignore you or to
watch you while you pace…
Again, she stops.
She looks at me like I have two heads.
It helps me think. And besides, you have waaayyyyy
bigger problems than me pacing.
And there it is. That endless drone of a reminder that
she’s here for something.
I assert myself. All right then, first question: Who do you
work for?
Her hands are on her hips.
Who do YOU work for?
I roll my eyes. First rule: You don’t get to answer my questions with questions.
She’ll have none of that. First OTHER rule: YOU don’t make the rules. And that WAS my answer.
She is so good.
How is a question an answer?
Disbelief on her face.
However you would answer that question is how I would
answer that question. I work for the same people as you.
A little clarity. I’ll take it.
But who do you report to?
She sits down next to me. Finally.
Who do you report to?
Randy.
Randy? she asks. I do, too. She’s been my CONNECT the
whole time.
She?
She.
I have a Randy.
I gathered that when you said RANDY.
But my Randy is a HE not a SHE.
She puts her face in her hands.
Oh my. We have so far to go.
Where are we going?!!
She turns to me.
You really don’t know anything, do you?
That low-grade terror seeps in.
THAT’S WHAT’S SO WRONG ABOUT YOUR QUESTION-HOW WOULD I KNOW WHAT I DON’T KNOW???!!!
That’s fair.
It feels like she’s building up to something. Let’s get it
over with.
Just tell me. It’ll be fine.
She looks at me like I have no idea what I just said. Her
look shifts to an expression I can’t quite name.
Considering. That’s it. She’s considering something.
Weighing it.
Okay then, I’ll tell you. This is a GRAINING.
A graining? Should I know what that is?
She tilts her head back, shaking it as she does.
You SERIES 5’s, they really leave you out in the dark, don’t
they?
A blank look from me.
Please continue…
It sounds like I’m pleading with her. I am. I’m desperate.
Noon Yeah reaches down and picks up a few bits of dirt
and gravel from the ground at our feet. She rubs her
fingers together.
You know how if a single grain of sand gets into the gears
of a machine it can cause significant damage?
She doesn’t wait for me to respond.
We can’t have that. If a grain-just one grain-gets in there
that’s very, very serious. It has to be dealt with
immediately and decisively. It has to be removed.
A shudder, somewhere within.
That’s what I do.
She pauses.
You SERIES 5’s, you give the DATA that’s needed to keep it
all running well. If you can’t do your job then THE ENTIRE
THING is in danger.
An ever so small tinge of recognition.
The universe? The worlds?
I must sound like a small child. My worst fear.
Yes.
Her YES hangs here between us.
But what does this have to do with me?
I regret this as I ask it.
Your reports.
Oh.
Since you landed on Firdus your reports have been…
inconsistent.
