Felicity – A Philosophical Fable [Chapter 4]
The sofas were sectional and arranged in little clusters on only one wall, the wall that was opposite Mimi’s room. Mimi looked at the place where her shōji door should have been. It wasn’t there, but its absence was less interesting to her than the curvature of the walls. The north and south walls curved so gradually into the distance that she couldn’t even see the east and west walls. She thought to ask Fae about it, but didn’t. A strange and powerful urge to be silent stopped her.
Perhaps Tripp saw her trying to peer around the curvature of the walls because he suggested a tour of the house.
As the three walked the curve remained the same and Mimi saw more of the sectional sofas. Each cluster was arranged in a different configuration. Had they not been differently arranged Mimi might have believed she was looking at the same scene over and over again, for as much as they walked they never came to a wall. How long had they been walking?
She became aware of a faint sound, the rhythmic strumming of a guitar. The sound grew clearer and then Wave came into view. And after him Sunny.
Sunny was painting on the wall opposite the sofas. She painted as if from some inner need. The bright bold colors seemed brighter and bolder in comparison with the neutral shades everywhere else. Everywhere else except Mimi, that is, in her bright blue kimono.
Mimi watched her paint. She had the feeling that something was unusual about Sunny’s painting, but she didn’t know what. Sunny painted thick swirls of yellow. The yellow swirls coursed between shapeless masses of orange and red. A single desultory line of rich purple wound its way through the whole of it.
Sunny glided from one side of her painting to the other on nimble feet. Her white dress swished around her knees as she moved. Her arms made graceful circles through the air as her sensitive hands created the brilliant swirls.
That was it. That was what was so unusual. She had no paintbrush. She had no paint. It was her hands that made the painting, her hands that applied the color.
“Let’s take you to see Ryder next,” Tripp said after a while. But instead of going forward, he turned in the direction from which they had come. Mimi was puzzled. With a quizzical look, she pointed in the direction she was expecting them to take.
Wave laughed. “She doesn’t understand.” Then he looked at Mimi and explained. “It’s a circle, a ring.” He traced a circle in the air with his finger. “You go all the way around and end up right where you started.”
“How cute,” Fae chirped.
Tripp smiled indulgently. “Then on with the tour.” He turned around and led the way.
Even though she knew she was walking in a circle, it didn’t feel like it. The clusters of furniture were the same. Nothing distinguished itself from the rest of the house. But this time the walk seemed much shorter.
Ryder soon came into view. He was reclining on a sofa, waiting for them. They joined him and Mimi was glad to sit down. The air was too warm for her and it made her feel weak.
“You should eat,” Ryder said to her. He handed her a bowl of small colorless wafers. It didn’t interest her. She wasn’t hungry. She should have been hungry. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate. But she wasn’t in the least hungry.
Ryder held his own bowl and so did Tripp and Fae. Mimi hadn’t noticed the bowls before. Had they been out of sight until now? Ryder took a square cracker from his bowl and ate it conspicuously. Fae and Tripp also ate from their bowls. Yellow triangular chips for Tripp. And a pink custard for Fae that she ate daintily with a spoon.
Mimi reached into her bowl. It held, not colorless wafers, but ginger snaps. She bit into one. The sweet and spicy flavor was familiar and pleasant. After she finished her cookie she set her bowl down, but Ryder urged her to eat more.
“Our food is not very nutritious,” he explained. “So you have to eat more of it.” Mimi took up her bowl and bit into another ginger snap. They all looked pleased at her ready acquiescence.