Thalia
“Hellllooooo!” Thalia burst through the door. “Good Morning! I’m thrilled to be here!”
“Shhhhh!” whispered Calliope. “You’ll wake up Henny and then we’ll have to deal with barkhowlbarkbarkbark.”
(For those who don’t know… Henny a.k.a Henrietta; Blasted Dog and about 20 other names… is Typist’s black lab. She and Thalia share a lot of common traits.)
“Where are my sunglasses?” Urania muttered. “Will you please turn off your blinking headband, earrings, bracelets,” she sighed. “And shoes. You’re a collage of Jane Fonda, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and Santa’s sleigh team.”
“Y’all can’t get me down. It’s my turn and I get to show up how I want. Like that lyric in Luke Combs song Better Together…”
Cal jumped in with a line that pinched her a little every time she heard it… “What’s the point of this old guitar… if it ain’t got no stings? Or pouring your heart into a song, you ain’t gonna sing.” she sighed. “Tal… In all of your audaciousness, you inspire me.”
Contrition scrolled across Urania’s forehead. “Sorry. Of course you have to do you. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Can I ask about your self portrait though? This is not how I see you…”
“Right? The picture surprised me, too! Remember, we’re experimenting. Imagination. Which reminds me… that letter written by Hellen Keller — about her trip to the top of the Empire State Building — amazing. Without sight, she felt she could see bigger, better, and beyond her seeing companions. Imagination is so powerful!”
“Your eclectic collection of drawings does have a constraint?” Urania asked.
“Yup! Everything had to start with the letter T… constraints offer freedom. I’m Thalia — full of heart and feeling. More than anything I want to taste and engage with life. Want to join me, errr… us?”
Calliope whispered her favorite John Cheever quote, “We can’t write without readers. It’s precisely like a kiss — you can’t do it alone.”
My mind seems so small compared to that of Helen Keller!
As for Reality, despite seeing that “State” was missing, I dredged up my memories and glommed them onto her experiences! A cousin of cutting someone off in conversation “because we know what they were going to say anyway?”