Temporal Origami
We meet at the points that are now. Alpha and Omega. Standing within the ring of megalith stones, on the dust of desert plain. The force that compels our quest, loads the air.
The pendulous sun is split on the horizon, golden light making the mountains sharp in relief.
My feet are sore. The rags that had been robes, ripped to ribbons, flailing with the breeze.
The other time travellers gathered here, are equally weary.
Each extends one arm out, fist formed in greeting. Our knuckles touch. Together, our limbs pattern the spokes of a wheel. We pace as a cog and open our fingers to reveal what we have discovered.
Perched upon my palm is a parchment sculpture; a brown goat. Its pleats, sinks and folds reminiscent of paths I’ve taken; through earthquakes, wormholes, war zones.
Around the circle, other objects are uncovered: a star, a butterfly, a dolphin. On one hand is a sculptured boat; on another a flower. The paper edges flitter in the searching wind. Whisper of things we do not understand.
We don’t question what each symbolises; they match the hieroglyphs on the standing stones, which govern our destinations.
We’ve learnt that the Earth is not flat; that time is not a line. And the straight edges of paper, amplify the curving furrows and mounts on our palms. We still have much to comprehend.
The force field flows around us, making us sing. We grab notes and rhythms from the dusk of our shadows. The words are new on our tongues but ancient within our bones. We sing in harmony for the time that is now.
Then we pass on. Our heels denting the dirt, our toes leaving round whorls. Footprints, reminding us, that we know where we are going from the places we have been.
Author: Stephanie Percival enjoys writing in different styles and genres, and has been short and long-listed and won several writing competitions. Her novel ‘All the Trees in the Wood’ has recently been published. She is currently working on a collection of short stories to be published in 2023.
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