Magic grain

It was the end of an uncharacteristically hot summer, about twenty years after the great revolt had taken place. Alkali was sitting on the shore, braiding her own hair. She was trying a new type of braid. It was one Zuzu had taught her, and she thought it looked cute so far.

She was thinking about what she was going to eat for dinner later when she realized she was about to be late for grain duty.

Ever since the burnings stopped and Kahlo came into to power, all children under 18 and the elderly were put on grain duty. Alkali had been assigned to rice duty under the supervision of a stunning woman with intricately tattooed hands named Zuzu. Zuzu was a pythoness. That is, she was a soothsayer of souls and spirits. She had deep black hair streaked with white, and green eyes. She had two cats that followed her around and gave off an auspicious vibe. She had a loud laugh and always made the best jokes. But she also had a heaviness about her that couldn’t really be described with words. Zuzu also had a pair of jewel handled sai holstered on her hip and always carried a few flower petals in her pockets. “They remind me of my grandma” she explained as she ran them slowly between her fingers one or twice during the day.

Alkali and all her friends spent their days sorting through the grains they were assigned to. As she flicked pieces of rice around every day, she couldn’t help but feel like they were all looking for ... something … but she didn’t know what.

She had been told by a couple of the elders that if she ever “felt silly” while sorting grains that she should keep quiet about it and go directly to Zuzu. As quickly as possible and as quietly possible. Up until today, the most she had ever felt on grain duty was heartburn from that one time she ate a whole jar of old pepperoncinis that she found in the warehouse.

But today, as she reached out to push a pile of grains to the left, she noticed that one of them had a slight shimmer. She lifted her hand to sort it with her stick when...

BOOM. All of the sudden she was floating. In an area that was like outer space. And she seemed to no longer have a body weighing her down. She heard musical sounds and saw sparkles. For a moment, she could see and feel the entirety of her life. It was pretty clear to her what was going on. She had found a magical mystery grain.

It seemed as though everything that would ever happen in her existence on earth, she saw flash in an instant. She saw familiar faces floating and could faintly hear mellifluous voices she recognized having conversations that would be memorable on her life timeline. Even though she hadn’t live through them yet, the monumental events like weddings, births, graduations, and parties gave her such happiness when she saw them flash by. This was a type of happiness she had never felt before. She thought it might be the feeling that some of the elders called “peace.”

Alkali felt like she had just dipped a toe into the afterlife. As the flash continued, it felt like someone was dumping oil on her head and it was flowing down her braids and onto her skin. As the oil ran over each part of her body, it started to glow. Soon, her whole body was lit up like a small star. Alkali felt content. But with the peace and glow of the flash also came feelings and scenes of death. She saw and felt hard conversations that are had when death comes.

But then, there was a voice she could hear that was a little more clear that the others. Strangely, this was a voice that Alkali didn’t recognize. “Hey bud, I need to talk to you...” the voice said. This was obviously a snippet of a death alert conversation from her life. But who was this person? Why didn’t she recognize his voice? And why was he calling her “bud”?

BOOM. She was back.

What was that flash that just happened? How long had she been away? Maybe, five minutes? Twenty minutes? She had seen so many things. No. When she flashed back, it had obviously only been a second. “What the actual frick just happened?” she murmured to herself. Then she looked down at the grain in her hand. “What IS this?” She didn’t know the answer. But she wanted to figure it out. She swiftly walked by the other grain sorters to get to the outside. “I need a break,” she spat out as she pushed by.

It was sunset by the time she got out the door. That meant it was quitting time soon. She looked out over the hill that was bathed in that specific glow that only happens at this time of evening. Wow, she felt so deeply content. And a little bit flabbergasted. Seeing her whole life was crazy. Feeling those feelings … it was indescribable. And she knew she wanted to feel it again. But she also wanted to know … who was that extra voice she had just heard in her head? And why was it there?

Alkali silently rolled the grain of rice between her fingers one more time. This is what they had been looking for. This is why they were all on grain duty. Zuzu and her cats were walking her way so Alkali quickly made the decision. She smiled at Zuzu, put the grain in her heart locket she wore around her neck, and got back to sorting.