Existence!
Katy was rescued from a dark place called The Sterling and as she looks around she is conscious that she is alive. Alive and ready, for what exactly? She is not sure but Katy can feel that there are many exciting possibilities of life, even though she has no knowledge or any idea what they are.
She is surrounded by hundreds of other Katy’s and they huddle together in a sort of waiting room. It is neither warm nor is it cold, it is not silent but also not noisy. In fact its quite comfortable like being wrapped up in a fluffy duvet. For a long time nothing happened but they know they are alive because they have been rescued from the Sterling, a place where they have no memories except cold ones.
After a long time, the Katy’s are woken from a comfortable semi sleep suspension. The door to the waiting room opens and there is an immediate depressurisation, a vortex of confused air. Pandemonium and panic ensues as the Katy’s are sucked towards the door, only to tumble out into the darkness and disappear back into the cold, the Sterling.
Looking around frantically Katy tries to escape away towards the back of the room pressing her way through the crowd to the back of the room. Her mind is wild with panic as she faces the loss of future possibilities. Her form is blown violently, air whipping into her eyes as she tries to see. The pressure is too great and as she slides, helplessly towards the door, she closes her eyes, squeezing out tears of grief and fear, powerless to prevent what is about to happen. Suddenly, the door slams shut with a violent suction and boom. Katy is dazed but, after a moment, realises she is left alone in the waiting room. Katy is alone but still alive.
Staring at the door she wondered what had happened and why she still exists? Thoughts begin to settle and she starts to notice sounds from behind her- clinking, a murmur with an occasional bell, laughter. Katy can hear talking and turns around to face the far wall which is no longer blank but is now a picture of a world of wonders. For some reason Katy has an understanding of what she can see. A room with tables and chairs, a large window with sunshine pouring through. Katy is in a Cafe.
Katy also instinctively knows that she is attached to a lady called Jade, who looks different from everyone else. Her skin glitters and shines in a way that tells Katy that she belongs to her. Perhaps Jade has need of Katy somehow.
Jade sips her coffee while Katy looks around at the other customers in the Cafe. Some are smiling and laughing, some reading and some staring out of the window. The walls are adorned by bags of coffee, tea pots in boxes and bags of biscuits. The floor to ceiling shelves run around the walls of the cafe and end behind the counter where the coffee machine and till is located. There is a blur in Katy’s vision, a sort of blind spot on the counter. It’s a mini vortex about as big as a hand, with a black centre and looks like the door that sucked the other Katy’s back to the Sterling. It’s like a hole in time and space and she notice customers pouring credits into it. It looks scary, a small door with CONTACTLESS written on it. When a customer pays for their food, credits are sucked from the card through the CONTACTLESS and disappear into the void.
Katy’s attention is drawn to a guest who arrives to join Jade at her table. They have a drink and a meal, all the while chatting happily and laughing and then, Katy realises that the person has made a proposal of marriage and Jade said yes. The other customers applaud and everyone celebrates. Wow, how lovely that this happened and that Katy got to see it.
After some time, Jade and her partner prepare to leave the Café and Katy wonders where Jade will take her next? However, to her alarm, Jade walks towards the counter, toward the vortex called CONTACTLESS. As they get closer her happiness at witnessing such a joyful occasion turns to despair. She realises that Jade is going to send her into the CONTACTLESS Vortex, oblivion, death?
Katy closes her eyes in expectation of her doom but, instead of being sucked into the vortex, the manager says, ‘Ah yes, Kingston Pound’s, that’s great’
Katy is completely shocked. She expected to be returned to the Sterling, to be without form, to be dead. But, as Katy looks around at the cafe and sees Jade leave. Jade’s skin is no longer shimmering as it was before. How curious! Instead, the Cafe owner Ahmed, now has the iridescent skin that, confirms that Katy now belongs to him.
As the daylight turns to evening and the colours in the café dim into silence, Katy sees a whole world of possibilities in front of her. She feels safe that she is not destined to return to the sterling and that she may have many things to witness and adventures ahead of her. She knows that returning to the sterling is a possibility at some stage but something tells her that this is not going to happen for a while. It is as if she is on a voyage with a number of ports, waiting to reveal their secrets. Katy will become an intrepid explorer and travel around the borough, enabling her to witness events. She will see joy and sadness along the way and even become part of events herself. She will shed tears when people are sad and laugh with them when they are happy. She will be passed from person to person and may languish in a waiting room from time to time.
Katy is a witness and will see the beauty of colour without being able to describe it; hear what people say without being able to repeat it; and witness their despair and inadequacies without passing any judgment.
Katy is, kinetic
Katy is, enabling
Katy is, alive ….. but what, she wonders, is a Kingston Pound?
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