There’s someone knocking at my door. “Rat-a-tat-tat”. Curiously precise– a finely tuned machine gun laying siege to the barriers of my world. Shadows shift through frosted glass, a gentle murmur drifts through the dead air between cracks. “Rat-a-tat-tat”. Click, creak, a sliver of light- pupils adjust damn you, take in the sight! “We’ve come to save your soul,” they chorus. Funny, I didn’t realise it needed it. Note to self – improve Morse code.

Shadow number one, step forward please. Hot shimmering air focuses her lines into form.  Harmless enough… Sensual, even– tiny pink lips parted ever so slightly in a seductive O. Nodded forward by her automaton, the angel coos. “Embrace truth and be saved.” My truth? Your truth? Who’s truth? Twin green windows to nowhere – I can’t look away. Too late – succubus!

She presses her warmth against me, green glass flashing red – the intoxicating contradiction of malfunctioning light. Delicate needles press through my spine, feeding blind obedience straight into my mind. Goodbye, oh sweet dazzling mosaic. All hail the new regime, the grandest of grand, the mighty melting pot. We’ve one colour to sell – one size for the masses, one key for the king’s cell.

Beautiful exuberance. Now I’m safe, just like her. All knowing, just like her. Look, sweetheart, a door! “Rat-a-tat-tat. I’ve come to save your soul.”

Raj