EXISTENCE

(continued from Part I)

[SEND]

"I don't know if this is going to work..."

Anna sighed deeply as she sent the beginnings of the next part to her publisher. Looking at Missy and Poh:

"I know it isn't writer's block. It's just that I don't have the heart for it anymore."

She thought about the conflicts between winter and spring in her writings. She also considered that Arwen was capable of growing whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. Seasons really weren't a thing. Especially since Arwen's family estate was protected by a dome.

"Are you ready to go to bed? I am."

The four-legged fur babies blinked their crystalline eyes and wagged their tails as if to reassure their mom that everything was going to be okay. Anna slowly stood up from her desk and headed towards her room. Missy and Pho beat her to the room and sat patiently just inside the bedroom door, knowing that they would receive a peanut butter doggy treat. Tails began to wag as Anna reached into the cookie jar. Turning towards her loyal companions:

"Good girls. Down. Wait."

The usual commands were followed by the two Siberian huskies stretched out across the floor staring at the peanut-shaped cookies laying on the floor between their paws. Missy, all white with the exception of her ears that looked like they had been dipped in red paint, along with a single red racing stripe down her spine, would glance up expectantly at Anna waiting for the all-clear. Missy's sister, Poh, dressed formally in a black fur tuxedo, switched between staring at her cookie and that of Missy's.

"Okay."

Both quickly snatched up their cookies, crunching away as Anna slowly undressed and climbed into her bed.

It wasn't really a bed. It was more like a cocoon or a sarcophagus. As she rested her head on the silk pillow, a glass cover rolled overhead, sealing Anna into an anti-gravity chamber. The familiar woosh of air signaled the completion of the hermetic seal and the introduction of an incapacitating agent containing the sweet fragrances of asutra lavender and chamomile. She would sleep weightlessly and painlessly for the next eight hours.

Thanks to Archimedes' discovery of buoyancy and experiments by Russian physicist Pyotr Kapitza, French physicists of the Twenty-First Century continued the study of buoyancy and vibration, discovering a new kind of buoyancy that they call "anti-gravity." Published September 2020, in the weekly British scientific journal Nature, these researchers reported that they could create a similar anti-gravity effect for buoyant objects by vibrating and levitating dense liquids in an enclosed glass chamber. This discovery, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, was instrumental in the development of the anti-gravity chamber.

Truth be told, the work was so new, that when Anna was in the ICU at St. John's Regional Medical Centre, the pod was a prototype and Anna was the guinea pig. During the past couple of years, the enclosure had been instrumental in her healing and allowed her to sleep and dream:

The warm sun and the chilled air brought Arwen to complete awareness of the present and she felt excitement well up from her core as she anticipated seeing her closest friends. The tips of her toes touched the ice-cold stone floor as she rose and turned out of bed in a single fluid motion.

Daemon, peering out from under the chaise lounge, greeted Arwen with a long low howl as she moved across the room to the dressing table. Each brush and pin; evenly spaced across the smooth cedar top.

She sat on the matching bench and gazed into the mirror hanging low on the wall. How many times she had started her days with the same pair of eyes looking back at her. She knew every expression of emotion. Those eyes could not lie, hid, or conceal anything from her.

A red squirrel landed on the windowsill to scold Daemon who slowly emerged from beneath the chaise. As she finished pinning the braids and curly tresses, the sounds of the family stirring signaled Sabastian to crawl out from under the covers.

"Seriously, why are you always in my bed?"

Sabastian winked back and extended his front paws. And then in a moment of complete mischief; lept into the air landing with all claws into the thick black winter coat strewn across the floor at the foot of the bed. Daemon yowled and then a battle of claws and fur clouded the room.

After the battle subsided and each opponent in their respective corners, Awwen walked over to the bed to straighten the covers and fluff and place the pillows in the same configuration as the day before and the many days before that. Each pillow and its place and all the embroidery faced out to paint a picture or tell a story to any guest who entered her room.

Yello beams of light crossed the room from the open window revealing the details of the stone floor. The silvery flecks of granite sparkled and danced reflecting diamonds on the walls.

As Arwen walked from the bed to the wardrobe, a flash of light blinded her momentarily. As she extended her hand to the knob, she heard the soft pad of feline paws hit the floor. She stood examining the choices before her. Sabastian weaved slowly between her legs, flicking his tail against the folds of her nightgown. He began to purr and press his head against her legs hoping for a touch or a scratch. Her extended fingers were an invitation and Sabastian stood tall on his hind legs so that his head could reach her fingertips.

The wardrobe exploded with vibrant satin and silk mingled with crushed velvet, wool, and leather. The poppy red day dress was quickly laid out on the bed as the hunt for the winter white bolero commenced.

"Really!" exclaimed Arwen. Margaery had not returned the sequinned bolero.

"Margaery! Do you still have my cream-colored dress with the jeweled cover?" Arwen asked as she reached the bedroom door across the hall from her room.

Margaery groaned, peering out from beneath her covers: "I don't know."

"You borrowed it. Where is it? I hope it's not on the floor and wrinkled."

Arwen returned to her room and searched for her second choice. In short order, a plain black high-waisted dress lay next to the red dress.

With a deep exhale the search for a third alternative dress resumed. Long delicate fingers passed between each option, separating enough to reveal the details of embroidery and color.

Another sigh escaped tulip-shaped lips as a third option lay across the red and black dresses. This dress had never been worn. It was a gift from her parents. A symbol of their hopes and dreams for their daughter. Her usual appearance represented the strong will of a tomboy whose companions included cats, dogs, and horses. The freshly cut hay and freshly tilled soil: her favorite perfume.

Cultural refinement and education often felt like shackles. She just preferred the outdoors and the freedom felt while traversing the vast woods and fields that surrounded their home. It was expected that the great house of "H" was educated: trained in the arts and skills that would edify the body of "The Order." The pursuit of excellence supported by her mother's reassuring words: "Visualize your success in mastering this skill." Skill, exchanged for other studies like language and talent. Father often spoke of discipline and self-mastery. Younger siblings played more often and had no care.

Continued: The Light and Dark of Truth - Part III