Landlords, Lodgers & Legends

Table was a landlord in the microverse known as the Invisible Water Realm.

In this microverse reign small-small-big things  that big-big-small worlds are organized to dis-member, like You. In the Invisible Water Realm, there exist no right angles, like You,

only sites of prolonged moments of perception, estranged sentences and words, like You.

Unlike Table's father (Wardrobe the Slumlord), Table was a reputable lessor. Table was quirky and versatile as if an incarnation of queer dreams, a polymath of cause. Table was wide, in that they spoke in spectrums,  a polyamorous polyglot of sorts. Their flat-top heart was unwaxed, and as dusty as forgetting.  Table was rustic as if hiding an archaic skeleton or a precious me(n)tal. Their legs appeared distressed: a traveller's curse, blessing , medicine. Table's edges were pregnant with sorrow, marrow, shallow dreams.

Inside Table's four cabinets lodged haunting mysteries of the Invisible Water Realm,

sounds with luminescent faces, fragmentary wading beliefs shaped as parables, communities of deceased stories, fragrances that spoke in ideographs, light with aged hands and malleable arms.

Candle lived in the top right sliding tray.

She was long like a blind man's teardrop. Her body wore wrinkles of utopia. In her grooves and chatter marks were melted memories of tomorrow's that never happened. Candle was alluring; all residents of Table lived as if love-potioned by her. In the top left compartment, Pencil and Grief read her poetry to each other every other bedtime. Tongai the Desert Cat and Thesaurus residing bottom right, recited prayers and poured libations to her every aurora. Candle had a wick so seductive, it was said to be woven by the moans of copulation deities themselves.

Candle sublet with the only lodger immune to her enigma, Valelani the flying tortoise.

Valelani was loquacious; he  spoke as if digesting a dictionary. On his elliptical wings he carried  miniature jembe drums and stroked them with every utterance. Valelani was a stillborn tragedy of the rainbow serpents of the Red Sea. Death, the Table's only terms of  lodgings.  Hiding the dead from the shadow realm dead, an honour passed from Table to Table in sacred confidentiality. In the bottom left container dwelt Cijimpi the limping Hare and Nikiwe the Mountain girl.

II

On the day of Table's tenth birthday there was a party.

All gathered near the Table's flat-top, heart full in celebration of this milestone. At age ten as a rite of passage, Table was set to receive a new set of drawers and new occupants under their watch. It was a truly rare and auspicious occasion. Many of those that deal in hiding the Dead know that length of tenure in a microverse is as unpredictable as birth. Grief was at the turntables sonically enchanting the dance floor. Candle and Tongai were locked pelvis to pelvis in detty gyration. At the jumping castle Thesaurus was bouncing from air mattress to wall in toddler-bliss,  as if high on levity. Pencil was serving amahewu laced with injengu by the shed that Nikiwe was painting from. Elders from the Council of Poiesis: Pine & Teak and their emissaries Chair one, Chair four and Lamp seven were also in attendance and on the dancefloor.  As the celebrations reached their climax, and it was time for Table to receive their new drawers from Pine & Teak, a brawl broke out at Pencil's food stand. It was Valelani and Cijimpi. Table, visibly embarrassed and displeased, barked an order to them. Tittering by, the two culprits presented themselves at the podium across Grief's booth. The rest of Table's honored guests now sat on the stage behind the podium. Valelani and Cijimpi were both freshly wet and behind them, their trail of driblets led closest to Nikiwe  where there was a huge boiling black pot. Valelani claimed that Cijimpi had tried to trick him into being his next meal. Table was confused and asked Cijimpi to explain. In a cunning and devious nonchalance Cijimpi said 'seeing is believing' and requested to demonstrate. Table agreed. Valelani refused. "Once shy, thrice beaten!," he asserted. Table asked if there was any volunteer to settle the matter. Tongai mewled. Nikiwe continued painting. Pencil hid his eyes in the ground. There was no response, so Table offered new privileges for the volunteer to try to entice the lodgers. Briefly, Thesaurus twitched in temptation, until Valelani sporadically drummed a short tune as if signalling a secret code. In the end, none budged. In the end, Table decided to do it themself.

Cijimpi chuckled, "Okay, we are going to play a game; you and I are testing who is the strongest of us. I will go into the pot first and see how long I will last before asking you to remove me. When I yell, you must remove me. Nikiwe will be keeping time."

In went Cijimpi and after ten seconds, he screamed and was let out.

It was then Table's turn; they went in and instantly lost a leg. Cijimpi giggled. Tongai cursed at Cijimpi. Thesaurus was laughing. Nikiwe continued counting in brush strokes. It had been five seconds when Table started shrieking! Cijimpi did not move from atop the lid. Table screamed! Cijimpi giggled and sang, "Pe! Pe! re Gumphe! sasiphekana

Umvundla lo nteletsha, fudu Tafula, uTafula wafa mina ngaphila…"

III

When Table died,

their cabinets of Invisible Water Realm esoteric mysteries, sounds with luminescent faces, fragmentary wading beliefs shaped as parables, communities of

deceased stories, fragrances that spoke in ideographs, light with aged hands and malleable arms, were moved next door to the Omniverse, the Miniverse.

There, they were gifted to a new landlord poles apart from Table.

Mazwemzini the Poet was his name.

IV

Mazwemzini the Poet

studied Tongai the Desert Cat

married Cijimpi the Limping Hare

eulogised Nikiwe the Mountain Girl

fed Thesaurus

lit Pencil

read Grief

wrote Candle

and

ate

Valelani the flying tortoise.