Creator

Set 1: Snow Tiger

Marble was all we knew and all that we were. Gazing at my heavy fingers, barely a nick or scratch, and lumbering through my stone home I observed the very motionless knick-knacks on my shelves. Next door I could hear the laughter of my friend Jacob’s children who were a grey,glossy stone set he’d just recently carved with his partner Phineas. Smooth cheeks, wide smiles, and no matter how much they grinned, no wrinkles. My place, in contrast, had so little noise that the air had to ring, reminding me that sound still existed. While they were away on vacation, that was when I decided to pull out the old chisel and hammer to a slab of white marble striated with black that I’d been keeping for some time. From clouds of dust, chunks of heavy stone, I carefully shaped my new companion. She mewed at me (which was to be expected), but then she shook her body, shedding the stone as it flew everywhere across my flat. What happened next surprised me most: soft, white fur started growing on her and her eyes, no longer a solid white, became the color of the night sky. She playfully pounced on me, rubbing her cheeks against mine. Lighter than a feather for me, I could lift her easily but had to be careful how I held her. I was a heavy colossus, she hardly more than an ant. Vibrating with joy, she stayed close to me. I learned quickly that she couldn’t live off what was in our world. So I had to carve again a soft bed, animals she could hunt for food, and all the necessities.

Coming back from their vacation, Jacob and the rest of his family came to visit me. Snow Tiger sauntered over to greet them as they backed away in fright. I quickly explained to them she was entirely harmless.

“How did you do this??” Phineas looked at me incredulously. I met him with the same look of puzzlement I had when I saw my fur baby come to a new level of life by growing soft with fur.

“I...have no idea. It just happened and it continues happening every time I carve something.”

“Do you think you could make something for us? Just a small thing…” Jacob cut in excitedly. The gears in his head were moving so fast I could almost see smoke coming out of his ears. Phineas gave him a look to shame him for being so blunt.

“It’s okay Phineas...we have all known each other a long time. And you keep me good company. I suppose it’s the least I could do.” They both smiled and their girls giggled as Snow Tiger batted its soft mitts at a piece of string they dangled for her.

“You don’t have to make us something like a cat. We’re okay with something smaller. Something to teach our girls how to be gentle. The way they are now,” Jacob looked back at them as he said this.

“I will do my best.” As I said this, an image popped into my head of what to make. I couldn’t tell you where it came from though.

Set 2: Chirrup

I cupped my latest creation in my hands, forming a protective orb around it. If it weren't’ for its back legs occasionally hitting my palm, I might have forgotten I was holding it in the first place. What was unmistakable was the chirrup sound it made throughout my apartment. Consistently throughout the night. I had to carve it a habitat where it could eat, have a mate, and chirrup to its heart’s content. Once it was all ready, Jacob and Phineas picked both insects up as a present for their girls. My shelves now stood with inventions and creatures I never even knew existed and yet were made by my hand. It didn’t take long for word to spread that I could give new textures and colors to things just by working with a block of granite. People came from far and wide to place their order. I was backed up for weeks due to high demand. Snow knew that I was feeling heavier than usual and pressed herself deeper into my chest every night I went to sleep just to make me feel better. I charged for every new creation I made, but only so much that I wouldn’t get rich. But it was no use because the money piled up. I accidentally chipped my fingers falling asleep with tools still in my hand. What I really needed was a partner to help keep up with everything.

Set 3: Adam

I blacked out my windows, padlocked my door, and put up signs letting people know I was not in business for the next couple weeks. There would be some screaming, shouting, the occasional “Do you know who I AM????” But I paid them no mind since this would be my most complicated work. Proportions had to be right, the figure couldn’t be cumbersome, and he needed to be strong enough to work with our materials. Adam gasped his way into the world, clutching his throat and desperately taking in air. I gave him water, a blanket, and more importantly, an explanation of how he got here. He had questions. Everyday many questions as we opened back up the shop. He’d ask things like Why is everyone here stone and not I? How do you know how to create these things and no one else? Could I become stone if I wanted to? I could do nothing for him because these answers were even beyond my reach. His hand was as steady as mine and we had similar sensibilities about colors. As everyone had at least one sampling of our product and it became mainstream, people came by less frequently which was a true blessing. We solved production problems pretty quickly once we realized that creating two of everything allowed them to make copies of themselves.

This down-time gave us time to experiment and before either of us knew it, my place became a veritable jungle of birds, cats, dogs, plants, and insects. I could hear all the magnificent noises I wanted at any time. Cheep cheeps from the birds, mews from felines, howls from our wild dogs, and my favorite, the chirrup from our little night musicians. The symphony that put me and Adam to sleep was not heard by anyone else. Conversely, I wasn’t able to hear the life rhythms of our neighbors anymore. Adam and I continued our deep conversations until it dawned on both of us something was wrong. My marble fingers started dropping in chunks to the floor and beneath I found soft hands of flesh and bone.

“Adam, help me take this off!”

“Of course.”

It was like shedding an eggshell, patches crisply peeling off in clean sheets fitted to the contours of my body. I greedily drew in my first human breath in a long time and embraced Adam. Grass sprouted beneath our feet. Plants stretched their arms all around the apartment making the transformation complete. We stood bound together in a mutual memory that struck us both at once as vines wrapped themselves around us.

“I know why I’m here now, Eve.”

“Me too. Welcome to exile.”