Stories of Siv Spencer Theophane
Your only as dim as you feel
Calhoun’s finite prejudice switched off for the moment and he instead came to Siv’s side. Mr Emanuel stood in front of his door, silent as a librarian, looking at them as if they were fools. Siv felt like a fool, and stiffened when Calhoun came closer to him, it made him feel claustrophobic. Especially the thought of going back into a building, it caused a familiar sense of isolation to once again invaded him. Calhoun’s head lowered to look into Siv’s eyes.
“Your not going back”
His voice had turned from steel to sponge, and had Siv been capable of it he would have smiled. He had never experienced the happiness that were necessary to genuinely smile. Calhoun’s mouth twitched into a neutral expression as opposed to the frown he usually wore, which was an improvement. Siv imagined that being married had made him happy once. Siv couldn’t imagine himself committed to a woman, and it had only further convinced him after seeing Calhoun’s reaction in the forest that relationships caused nothing but hurt. Calhoun knew better than to touch him, but Mr Emanuel didn’t appear too intelligent in Siv’s eyes when he walked back over to Siv, slapping a strong hand on his back trying to urge him to move forward.
“Please take your hands off me”
Siv blurted out before clenching his lips, Mr Emanuel wasn’t too impressed. He sounded a light groan and rose his arm over Siv’s head to bring it back to his side, a motion that made Siv feel very uneasy but he followed this time, and consequently so did Calhoun. Mr Emanuel put his key through the door and turned it in a spherical way that Siv’s eyes watched with extreme excitement. He childishly promised himself that one day he would own one. Another curious thought struck him then, Calhoun must have lived in his own home, Siv couldn’t understand why he would’ve wanted to give up this lifestyle for the confined laboratories where no man had individuality. When Mr Emanuel opened the door he saw wooden shelves at either side of a narrow opening, there was an open door further forward that was open enough for Siv to recognise a kitchen, and then stairs beside it. Among other things, there was another door to their left that presumably had a television and a sofa, Siv had found many names for this room. Most commonly known as a lounge or a living room, which to him were curious names.
“Hello, what’s going on here?”
A small woman came out of the kitchen and greeted her husband with a light kiss on his cheek, which Calhoun responded to by looking away and Siv cringed. Her hair was a dark grey colour and age was written all over her face, but Siv estimated her to be far younger than Calhoun. After that, all that Siv and Calhoun could hear was subtle whispers between the couple, the woman responded monosyllabically that gave the men no indication of whether or not they were welcome. A minute later she acknowledged them.
“Would either of you like a drink?”
Calhoun shook his head slowly, but Siv naively responded;
“Do you have any demineralised water?”
“We have water from the tap?”
Siv was unsure of this response, and so he imitated Calhoun’s response. He didn’t know if this was some slang term that he had not come across before but he knew that she didn’t definitely assure him that their water was free of minerals, so he passed up the offer. Siv wondered why homes weren’t full of gay spirits when they lived in such luxury, maybe there was more to freedom than had crossed his mind.
“Alright then you both would probably want a shower”
The woman commented, and the couple of men stared at each other. Back in the labs a ‘shower’ would be bathing in the equivalent of cleaning solvents. But Siv knew that he couldn’t avoid certain similar aspects between the two worlds, so he nodded in surrender. Calhoun’s tense body was beginning to loosen even when the woman offered to show them where the bathroom was. They followed her obediently to the hated bathroom. Siv tried to trust that every particle in the liquid that spouts from the shower had been examined, but he had to ask.
“What kind of solvent do you use?”
He asked her, Calhoun pressed his fingertips to his forehead in aggravation.
“He’s joking, we can take things from here”
He cut in before the woman could answer. Siv looked puzzled and watched the woman leave. Calhoun gave him a look that made him think he was back at the wards with the squad of hopeful escapees, Calhoun had the same look in his eyes.
“You have a lot to learn, lesson number one…”
He moved over to the shower and turned the blue knob, cold water spat out in a frenzy until he turned it further and let the water flow like a rainfall.
“It’s only water”
Siv never thought he’d have a moment in his life where he felt so incredibly dim. The corners of Calhoun’s mouth turned upward in an amused smile, it was the first time Siv had seen this from him, but he decided against pointing it out on the chance that it was unintentional. Calhoun opened the bathroom door, and walked out with the same smile. Siv closed the door and stripped off his clothes in the usual routine, but upon stepping into the shower he suddenly missed the acid showers. He was dying of chills beneath the shower, but he held in a scream and proceeded with his shower. After half a minute he aborted the shower like an embarrassed monarch. For a second he had asked himself during that shower if this was really the paradise he thought it to be. He attacked these thoughts with arithmetic and wrapped a towel around him, his body shivering as he dried and emerged half an hour later with his old clothes on.
“Do you often suffer severe chills in the shower?” Siv asked.
“Did you use the knob for hot water?” Calhoun replied.
Siv blushed.
“Your not going back”
His voice had turned from steel to sponge, and had Siv been capable of it he would have smiled. He had never experienced the happiness that were necessary to genuinely smile. Calhoun’s mouth twitched into a neutral expression as opposed to the frown he usually wore, which was an improvement. Siv imagined that being married had made him happy once. Siv couldn’t imagine himself committed to a woman, and it had only further convinced him after seeing Calhoun’s reaction in the forest that relationships caused nothing but hurt. Calhoun knew better than to touch him, but Mr Emanuel didn’t appear too intelligent in Siv’s eyes when he walked back over to Siv, slapping a strong hand on his back trying to urge him to move forward.
“Please take your hands off me”
Siv blurted out before clenching his lips, Mr Emanuel wasn’t too impressed. He sounded a light groan and rose his arm over Siv’s head to bring it back to his side, a motion that made Siv feel very uneasy but he followed this time, and consequently so did Calhoun. Mr Emanuel put his key through the door and turned it in a spherical way that Siv’s eyes watched with extreme excitement. He childishly promised himself that one day he would own one. Another curious thought struck him then, Calhoun must have lived in his own home, Siv couldn’t understand why he would’ve wanted to give up this lifestyle for the confined laboratories where no man had individuality. When Mr Emanuel opened the door he saw wooden shelves at either side of a narrow opening, there was an open door further forward that was open enough for Siv to recognise a kitchen, and then stairs beside it. Among other things, there was another door to their left that presumably had a television and a sofa, Siv had found many names for this room. Most commonly known as a lounge or a living room, which to him were curious names.
“Hello, what’s going on here?”
A small woman came out of the kitchen and greeted her husband with a light kiss on his cheek, which Calhoun responded to by looking away and Siv cringed. Her hair was a dark grey colour and age was written all over her face, but Siv estimated her to be far younger than Calhoun. After that, all that Siv and Calhoun could hear was subtle whispers between the couple, the woman responded monosyllabically that gave the men no indication of whether or not they were welcome. A minute later she acknowledged them.
“Would either of you like a drink?”
Calhoun shook his head slowly, but Siv naively responded;
“Do you have any demineralised water?”
“We have water from the tap?”
Siv was unsure of this response, and so he imitated Calhoun’s response. He didn’t know if this was some slang term that he had not come across before but he knew that she didn’t definitely assure him that their water was free of minerals, so he passed up the offer. Siv wondered why homes weren’t full of gay spirits when they lived in such luxury, maybe there was more to freedom than had crossed his mind.
“Alright then you both would probably want a shower”
The woman commented, and the couple of men stared at each other. Back in the labs a ‘shower’ would be bathing in the equivalent of cleaning solvents. But Siv knew that he couldn’t avoid certain similar aspects between the two worlds, so he nodded in surrender. Calhoun’s tense body was beginning to loosen even when the woman offered to show them where the bathroom was. They followed her obediently to the hated bathroom. Siv tried to trust that every particle in the liquid that spouts from the shower had been examined, but he had to ask.
“What kind of solvent do you use?”
He asked her, Calhoun pressed his fingertips to his forehead in aggravation.
“He’s joking, we can take things from here”
He cut in before the woman could answer. Siv looked puzzled and watched the woman leave. Calhoun gave him a look that made him think he was back at the wards with the squad of hopeful escapees, Calhoun had the same look in his eyes.
“You have a lot to learn, lesson number one…”
He moved over to the shower and turned the blue knob, cold water spat out in a frenzy until he turned it further and let the water flow like a rainfall.
“It’s only water”
Siv never thought he’d have a moment in his life where he felt so incredibly dim. The corners of Calhoun’s mouth turned upward in an amused smile, it was the first time Siv had seen this from him, but he decided against pointing it out on the chance that it was unintentional. Calhoun opened the bathroom door, and walked out with the same smile. Siv closed the door and stripped off his clothes in the usual routine, but upon stepping into the shower he suddenly missed the acid showers. He was dying of chills beneath the shower, but he held in a scream and proceeded with his shower. After half a minute he aborted the shower like an embarrassed monarch. For a second he had asked himself during that shower if this was really the paradise he thought it to be. He attacked these thoughts with arithmetic and wrapped a towel around him, his body shivering as he dried and emerged half an hour later with his old clothes on.
“Do you often suffer severe chills in the shower?” Siv asked.
“Did you use the knob for hot water?” Calhoun replied.
Siv blushed.