Cecelia Opened the Door
something else inside that boy’s head- the Upright Man’s precious cargo
- the reality of Paul’s shoes
- the fir tree smelled
- felt indecently robust
- I thought you were in Africa
- a large number of plastic crates
Cecelia opened the door and saw Paul standing on her front porch amid a large number of plastic crates.
“I thought you were in Africa!” she cried and gave him a hug.
“I was.” He gestured to the crates. “The Upright Man’s precious cargo proved easy to retrieve.”
Cecelia invited her brother inside and waited for him to remove his shoes. The reality of Paul’s shoes is that they were of a highly complicated design and it took a long time for him to unfasten them. She gave up waiting and went to make them some coffee. By the time Paul joined her in the kitchen, the coffee felt indecently robust on the tongue.
They carried their mugs into the living room and sat by the Christmas tree, watching the lights blink on and off. The fir tree smelled like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It was one of the new genetic hybrids. But Paul didn’t even seem to notice.
There must be something else inside that boy’s head besides the holidays, Cecelia thought. I wonder where the Upright Man is.