Senescence | Chapter 3: Taking Root

The next I opened my eyes, the windows in my hab had been made transparent again. The gentle glow of the sunrise had been subsumed by the brilliance of our star at its zenith. Streaks of sunlight painted my face a curious shade of warm. Adjusting to the light, my eyes settled on the ten-foot figure curled up on my floor.

"Appie?"

A pair of opalescent teal eyes flickered to life. I watched as the Gordian mess of vines slowly unravelled itself and reformed into a vaguely coherent silhouette. Verdant tendrils and luscious green stems wound themselves around a shimmering core, rising slowly to lock gazes with my unkempt body.

"Hmpf. Good to know you're back to making fun of my name."

"I'll have you know, if you'd found me 2700 years ago, you wouldn't be complaining."

"Yes, yes. Ancient Greek. I hated that class."

"Okay, pee-lologist."

"Why you-"

An ungraceful chuckle escaped my lips. I could see its tendrils coil tightly at the sound of my historically-accurate bastardisation of its profession. I stuck out my leg and prodded it with my foot, letting out an infantile giggle. Its corporeal form felt soft and supple, and its vines gave a turgid bounce when I pressed them gently.

"Hey- What're you-"

"Forgive a girl for wanting to know what her friend feels like."

It was great to put a name to a face, I suppose. Years of only ever chatting online and seeing each other through a text interface did make me somewhat curious as to how it looked. I had never expected it to show up at my house. Knowing the vast spread of settlements across the galaxy, I had consigned myself to never meeting any of my online friends and contented myself with just our online correspondences.

Buzz. Instinctively, I vaulted off the bed and picked up my tablet. Oh.

<BuzzK1ll3r> come over at 1. ill be at khizris hab.
<BuzzK1ll3r> feel like killing myself again
<BuzzK1ll3r> need you to distract me <3 you know how

Aph stuck out a vine and snatched the tablet from my hands, putting it back on the table. I hadn't even noticed it standing behind me and snooping over my shoulder. Turning quickly, it stepped between me and my table and blocked my tablet from view. It saw everything. It knows how much of a slut I am. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"Let's go eat! We have so much to catch up on!"

"But-"

The excuse I was coming up with was quickly torn from my mouth by an unceremonious shove out the door. I tried to turn back and grab my tablet, but several vines shot out to bind my arms behind my back and walk me out into the hallway. How embarrassing. A soft whine slipped as I caught the attention of every passer-by. Another Affini from across the street looked at Aph and gave a knowing smile.

Arriving at a restaurant a few blocks south, Aph gently sat me down on a chair and left a vine around my waist, fixing me to the chair. My querulous wriggles and desperate attempts to leave my seat quickly drew a series of chuckles and stares as Aph stood by the counter ordering food. I need to get back. I couldn't leave them like that. I couldn't hurt them.

I clawed at its vines, trying to loosen its grip and slip out from underneath. Just as I had managed to find a bit of slack, another pair of vines wrapped around my wrists and pinned them to the sides of the chair. More eyes looked at me, some curious, some humoured. Realising the futility of my struggles, I sank into my chair and relinquished control to the vines, waiting for Aph's return.

Feeling a vine pat me on the head reassuringly, I took the time to look around the restaurant Aph had brought me to. A pre-Compact diner that had used to pay its staff pennies, now staffed by an Affini and its two florets. They buzzed with more life than the underpaid eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds I was used to seeing. Sizzling steaks and throwing together cocktails with a beaming smile. Chattering animatedly with one another and the patrons in the store.

"Cute, aren't they?"

The sound of Aph's return snapped my attention back to my seat like a rubber band with a jolt. I hadn't heard it return, let alone notice the vines no longer around my waist and wrists. I could run. Its soft vines absorbed the sound of each step it took, with only the soft squeaking of a chair as it sat down. I shot Aph a nettled stare as it sat the tray down in front of me.

"Now now. Don't be like that. It's for your own good."

A sharp pain shot through my head. The sounds around me grew muffled and dull, eclipsed by a sharp ringing in my ears. I could hear their voice. They were here. It's because I left them. I looked around frantically, scanning every face and every figure in the store. I shot up from my seat, fist balled and ready to dash.

"Shiki? Are you okay? Was it what I said? It's okay. You're okay."

Who was that? Was that them?

"Shiki, it's me, Aph. Can you look at me?"

I turned my head towards the voice, watching as a vine-clad figure stepped through the foggy haze surrounding my vision. Aph looked at me intently, observing the way my chest rose and fell. I looked back into its eyes, noticing the vines and leaves forming its face press tighter against its body.

"Breathe with me, Shiki. Can you do that for me? In, two, three four. Hold, two three four. Out, two, three four. Hold, two three four."

Locking eyes with Aph, I let my breathing fall into the cadence of its voice, counting together with it in my head. I felt the cold air in the restaurant flow over my tongue and into my lungs. I felt the gentle bubbling of carbon dioxide in my blood build and release. The blood slowly returned to my arms and legs as I focused on the rhythm of my breaths and keeping each breath steady.

"What else do you see? Can you name four other things?"

"A... steak..., a red... a red cup, striped wallpaper, and... a dusty window..."

I felt my words tugging at each item I named, pulling them across the same hazy boundary. Recalling the words for each one of them felt like probing into a distant memory. Everything else still felt clouded by a miasma of my thoughts, though I sensed a gentle breeze shifting the air in the room just enough to envision rough outlines of the things around me.

"Can you feel the soles of your feet pressed against the ground? The way the pressure on your heel shifts together with your body, the way your toes lie against your insoles... What else can you feel?"

"The chair against the back of my leg, the tingling around my waist from where... from where you held me, and... air from the vent blowing at me."

"You're doing so well. Listen to my voice. What else can you hear?"

Its voice sounded within my head, cutting through the dense mist clouding the air.

"I can hear oil sizzling on a grill and... a ship flying past."

"Good job! Can you tell me two things you can smell?"

"I can smell the steak on my plate and... rosemary."

"Can you open your mouth for me? I'm going to feed you some food. Tell me what you can taste."

The world around me grew quieter. I opened my mouth and felt a warm, crispy, strip of something rest on my tongue. I could taste the grains of salt, the subtle umami of soy seasoning, and the delectable crunch of a fry as I bit down on it.

"I taste... a french fry?"

I sat back down, relishing its taste. I felt the tension in my body dissipate as my vision became clear again. Aph looked at me sweetly amidst the soft chattering of the other patrons in the background. The muscles in my body let go of their deathly grip on my bones as I took a deep breath. I was safe.

"You did such a good job. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry Shiki, I won't say that again."

"It's alright, you didn't know."

I smiled.

"Thank you, Aph."