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Back Nothing to See Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Dedication2
  5. 1994
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 2006
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 2018
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. Acknowledgements

Mira and Donna were going for a walk around by the water. Greta and Peggy decided to walk down with them and then walk home that way. There were lots of people by the museum and kids on skateboards and bikes and people with dogs walked back and forth. ‘Like Sims,’ Greta said, and they laughed. It was like The Sims. A small girl riding on a three-wheeled plastic bike passed them then stopped and looked back at Greta and Peggy. Peggy waved, smiled, and the girl turned and scooted away fast to where her mother and father were. It was easy to brush it off. Greta and Peggy knew what the girl was looking at. Everyone did, but it was easy to pass it off as the type of thing a child does with any adult they don’t know. That part of their development where they’re just coming to terms with the fact that they’re autonomous, that people can see them. No one had to walk around it, it was so small you could just step over it, not having to change your path or even mention it. Greta and Peggy knew how to handle it. This was one of the reasons it was important for them to stay sober. Drunk, or angry, they would’ve blown it up. ‘What?’ ‘What are you looking at, kid?’ They needed to stay calm and let it pass. It would settle if they just left it alone. People would realise there was nothing to see. Nothing that concerned them. It had sunk into the manners of society. It was part of the oil that kept the cogs going.

But they knew they still stuck out. Now and then they would see others on the street and sometimes they would smile and sometimes they wouldn’t. It was a small group of women at a moment in time. A literal moment. One moment they had been one way, and the next they weren’t. They’d turned to their left and their right and they were this way, and everything had to carry on. By the time they were sober, it was already normal. At first the other one of them was like an article of clothing on a chair. Then they were putting the article of clothing on, then the article of clothing was melting into them, then it was like a limb, and then it was like nothing.

Greta and Peggy said goodbye to Mira and Donna and walked home in silence.