The Humanoid by Chipka
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Description
They move like us. They breathe our air. They terrify us. We—for unfathomable reasons—draw their attention. At one time, we called them elves and endowed them with god-like powers. They are not gods, though it is not unlike them to impersonate such beings. And now, they walk among us, invisible for the most part. Like us, they are imperfect, and so at times, we may sense them and define them by the absence they wish us to perceive. There are those among us—for reasons we cannot fathom—who encounter them daily. They speak but a single word in any language we may understand.
“Share,” one or another of them may say. “Share.” One single word, and the insistence that drives this whispered utterance is as inhuman as they are.
They share as well, and I’ve come to call them The Sharers because of that. They take nothing from us that we refuse to give, and always—in place of what they take, they offer something of value. To them. This is—perhaps—what is most disturbing about these creatures. What they cherish is inhuman and incomprehensible. There is no word in any human tongue for what they prize and so there is no concept for it. But they share it with us. Humans touched by this straightforward kindness are driven into strange insanities. And it is the madness that they engender that has taught them a single human question:
Why?
Though I see them regularly, they do not share with me. They have done so with my wife. Now, locked in some feverish, autistic fugue, she lives her days under professional care. Her nurses are kind. Her doctors are gentle. When she speaks—which is rare—her words are a lunatic babble of mathematics and poetry. It pains me to visit her, but I made a vow on the day of our marriage. For better or for worse. In sickness and in health. Till death do we part. And in honor of our vow, I visit her when I can. But I scarcely understand what she says to me and I’m terrified by the intoxicated delirium in her eyes.
They visit her as well. But I am not privy to what they share with her, or what she shares with them. I am sure that such sharing takes place. Once they have chosen partners for exchange, they stick with them. Sharing. There are people—though I cannot count myself among them—who say that my wife and others like her have learned a new language. Their language. It is a nice dream. A comfortable delusion. And though I don’t believe that, I don’t know what I actually think.
Now, alone in this house. I stare through winter-frosted glass. As a child, I liked the frost-flowers my grandmother taught me to see. And now, alone in this house, with frost on the windows, I see one of them. He (She?) is invisible to all but me. He (She?) walks the garden path and pauses on occasion, looking through one window or another. And then as silently as he (or she) comes, the creature leaves, walking like a human, only with a kind of cold, insect precision.
I am thankful that my visitor leaves me alone, and I dread the day when he (or she) steps into this house and says one of two words that will either shatter my sanity, or confront me with my own ignorance.
“Share.” I am chilled by that word.
“Why?” I am devastated by my impotence in the face of that question.
--Benjamin Maklin (unpublished journal)
***
Just another random wander my mind takes on occasion. I classified this as a photomanipulation as it's a composite of two photos and lots of post work. The original image was of frost on a window. The shadow is your's truly, doing the fashion-model walk in longjohns and turtle-neck while trying not to feel (or look) like an idiot. Ah, the things we do for art.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope the upcoming weekend is a great one for you.
Comments (25)
elfin14doaks
I love it when you mind wanders. This is a really great post. WOW .
popeslattz
The contrast of the clarity and illumination of the ice crystals and the soft dark shape of the "sharer" work beautifully together to create a mystery. The story of madness created by a simple utterance enhances the image. Thank you for sharing. I'll enjoy my madness a little more now.
dadon72
This is great... the narative reminds me of a short story called "Metastasis" by Dan Simmons (fantastic Sci-Fi/Horror author). It's about a guy, Louis Steig, who's mother is dying of cancer. He rushes to her side, but his car crashes on some black ice. He suffers some damage to his vision and brain. While visiting his mother, he discovers a creature no one else can see, which he calls "cancer vampires" infesting his mother with "tumor-slugs". At her funeral, many of these vampires visit to feed on the now corpulent and grown slugs infesting her body.... Quite the intense read as you can imagine. Anyways, this is a great job putting all this together. Excellent work Chip!
tstray1
Marvelous photo manipulation and story.
mbz2662
This has to be one of my favorites from you. It has a chilling effect ~ from the story and the frost. Wonderful work! :) :) ...and I had a good chuckle imagining you trying to be inconspicuous as you model-walked in your long johns and turtle neck... (maybe you should post that one!) LOL.
geirla
Great image and story!
Roxam
very fine "random wander"... it stands beautifully on it's own, somehow really complete....yet, this could easily be an exploration worthy of your time to develop into a longer piece... it's an intriguing concept that has an alluring tinge of Lovecraft in the narrative... most readers are almost compulsively attracted to a mystery and desire a solution---even if it's a fictional mystery and a fictional solution if the prose is delicious and the ideas have depth and fresh twists This is really excellent, thank you for sharing
watapki66
Wonderful image and story!
beachzz
I'm going to look at frosted glass very differently now. And if I see you on the other side in your long johns, I'll probably scream--let me know beforehand that it's you, ok? I love both the foto and your story. "A feverish, autistic, fugue" god, what a phrase. You do this like most of us walk, it just happens. Me, when I write, I stumble along like a baby learning to walk.
Meisiekind
Oh Chip - how absolutely marvelous! This goes straight to my favs!!! What a glorious piece of writing and the image... it leaves me speechless! Well done dear friend :)
helanker
WOW Chip! That was indeed a striking bunch of spinning. I just loved it. And the image.. WOW! It is gorgeous and I love that too. Now I try to ignore the last you wrote, GIGGLE!! But I cat stop laughing.
durleybeachbum
An absolute masterpiece! Both words and image, perfect for each other. My most favourite of your oozes yet, Chip. Intended or not, I feel it could be a metaphor for Alzheimers. and only you could look so elegant and fetching in longjohns.(!)
auntietk
prutzworks
xlt manip & story behind
pauldeleu
Great capture. I love the colours and the man behind.
Foto-Arte
Fantastic story and image! Amazing and impressive work as always!
flora-crassella
very cool work!!!!!
TwoPynts
Oh yeah! That's good...
sandra46
superb again!
blondeblurr
As soon as I saw this silhouette, I knew it had to be you... (without reading the explanation) The touch of colour I am detecting here, also seems to be the same as in your avatar, are you walking under rainbows ? or are you just a walking shadow, of a ghostly apparition amongst us, of the other world ? trying to fit in and learn to share...and then with the blink of an eye, you are 'come and gone' or was it a Fata Morgana ? (mirage). I don't necessarily mean you, Chip! A very frosty and cool presentation BB
KatesFriend
A haunting story. These creatures seem as ephemeral but natural and relevant as the shadow in the glass. I like the image, I like the colours caught frozen like in an ice crystal. The being seen, but not in its full truth. Rather a shadow of a greater thing that our limited perception of the universe can not grasp.
CoreyBlack
Freaky. WOW! This has "alien abduction tales" written all over it. Freak out in a moon age day dream! Don't forget to remind me to tell you my alien abduction story. Amazing work. I saw this and thought for a second that I was just lost in another X-Files daydream again. This is sinister. It actually gives me goose bumps. This is like that freaky alien scene in Fire in the Sky that scared the crap out of me and put me off plum sauce. You did a fantastic job on this and I love it. A definite favorite, and the story is just as creepy as the image.
romanceworks
Wow, an intriguing and rather chilling image. And I'm sure the word 'Share' means something quite different to this being. Semantics ... they can kill you. :o) CC
elisheba
I can't believe I didn't come across THIS one before checking the "last week feature" chip ! I totally agree with what you say about "them"... Once called fairies, djinns (in islam), daemons then demons -wich is a pretty interesting difference because "daemons" weren't supposed to be all abd-, ghosts, the little people, and now... aliens... or... subworld people. Why Not? The more I think about it, the more I tend to be almost 100 per cent sure some of these creatures DO come from... Earth. Underground mysteries, beauties and cults... I don't think they like us very much but I don't think they hate us either. Funny thing being my skill to see things THEIR point of view- if that makes sense to you. I mean... I often feel closer to these creatures wether they be from upthere or downthere than I feel like I belong to the human race and its terrible tendancy to confuse awareness, wisdom and technology: there is no superior human conscience to me Chip. I am anti-specist, anti-humanist and probably one of the very few people to assume that God may be a lizzard... so what? sf what? :D Great capture, great comment, see this rant of mine you provoked :))!
MrsRatbag
Chilling and enthralling story, Chip! And this image is superb!