3D"Text = Getting back to 4D street took its time and toll and as I watched De= troc pace back and forth in front of me, I felt I lacked the usual tendency to l= augh at his expense.

3D"Rounded He stopped pacing and looked my way. “This silence thing is not going to work Dew. You just can’t de= cide you’re not going to talk to me because I failed to stop something as = natural as the death of a human being. I’m your guide. You can’t ignore me... especially on 4D Street... where you know nothing without me.” =

I shrugged. “A= nd yet I am doing it,” I whispered to Patroc whose disagreement with my = silent approach was apparent in his gaze.

Detroc laughed, sarcastically. “You know better than that. I can hear you a million m= iles away.”

“But it’s clear I wasn’t talking to him,” I whispered to Patroc. And then= I saw something move very fast across the landscape in the open field. Its movement was so speedy I could barely make out its form. I frowned and turned to Patroc. He= was silent. I had never read him to be purely indifferent. I frowned at my most trusted ally in the world I knew and beyond it.

“Alright enoug= h of it!” I heard Detroc say and within seconds, his giant form was standi= ng over me.

I turned to him and shrugged. “You don’t frighten me Detroc. I know you can’t hurt me.”

His face formed an expression of what I thought was intended to be a scary face. But a creatur= e as handsome as he was couldn’t pull it off.

I smiled in spite. “Couldn’t even pass that one.”

He raised one eyebro= w, narrowed the other eye, an attempt that was nevertheless ineffective, but looked scarier than when he tried earlier.

I held a mocking smi= le. “You can’t get me.”

He brought his face = down close to mine and held my eyes with his. “The effect of those beautif= ul eyes wore off the day I met you, the minute you called me an ‘impurity’.”

He sniffed into me. “I can make your leg itch.”

I frowned, staring u= p at him in indignation. “You wouldn’t dare!”

I saw it again then,= the movement that was rapid and unclear earlier. And the response was to rush towards Patroc. Detroc caught me and drew me back.

“Let me go!= 221; I yelled. And he did. It was regulation on 4D World that he couldn’t = hold me against my will.

I ran towards Patroc= . He caught me, lifted me in his arms, and I felt an influx of charges which instantly relived me. “It’s nothing to be scared of it’s = just Rek,” he said.

I frowned. “Approximately how tall is Rek?”

“Do you want to meet him?” Patroc asked.

“Yes,” I answered. “But not now. I have to rest.”

In seconds Detroc lo= omed over me.

“Oh no, just go away! Shoo!” I said.

He spoke to Patroc. “You have to stop this Patroc. I think Dew is getting addicted to the= se energy surges you’ve been giving her. She’s after all, human.”

“What?” I exclaimed. “Put me down Patroc!” I struggled in Patroc’s = arm.

He did, gently, as he ever was.

I maintained my ange= r. “How dare you accuse me of such? That’s it! I’m going!= 221;

Detroc eyed me. “Why does instinct tell me it’s not back to your world?” =

I took two steps away from them and stared at my two beautiful giant guides who with their appearances looked more like two gigantic guards as they both stared down at me. I almost laughed, but maintained the appearance of anger. “I’ve had enough of yo= u two so called superior beings. I am going to meet that creature, Rek or what do= you call him.”

Patroc moved towards= me.

“No,” I = said. “Can’t I do this without you?”

He was hesitant. “Okay, I’ll make sure he doesn’t hear your approach. He’s by the tree on top of the hill.”

“Good,” I said and started up the hill.

“She’s playing angry…” I heard Detroc say, “…trying to avo= id the addiction issue. It’s a human tactic.”

3D"Rounded Indeed, he was right, I thought. I lov= ed the energy surges. And I was playing angry. But was I addicted? I had to get away from them. Meeting Rek was not a bad excuse.

The tree was huge and appeared more so as it sat on top of the hill. It held a view on either side that was picturesque. Appearances are virtual concepts of the powerful bein= gs on 4D world and never as rigid or powerful constructs as they were in 3D Ea= rth world. I had been there before and had chosen it as a favorite. Patroc had noted it and to please or pacify me could thrust me into the vicinity at wi= lls. I could will against it, but why ever will I? The place was breathtaking and effective. It had the calming effect of holding a great book without my hav= ing to actually read one. Patroc knew me only too well.

Appearances are transient and disposable. Human forms for instance can be imposed into a sc= ene or situation on 4D world without harming the actual human. But the creatures that lived on 4D world were not appearances. They were privileged. They were immortals. The creature Rek wasn’t an appearance or Patroc wouldnR= 17;t have wanted to introduce me to him. He must have stumbled upon my favorite place and must have loved it too.

With much energy got= ten from Patroc, getting up there was a breeze. And as I reached the top, “Ahh!” I heard someone scream, and looked down at the source. <= o:p>

Rek, the creature Pa= troc had spoken of, was a squirrel. As he saw me, in one swift move, hid the boo= k he was reading and gained some distance apart from me, still screaming.

When his screams seemed unending, “shouldn’t I be the one screaming and cowering for seeing a screaming squirrel?” I asked.

He stopped screaming= and extended his head and what I assumed was his neck forward giving me a visual inspection. His voice was low and deep. “This is 4D World. Humans are= not the only ones able to talk here. There is no privilege here. Physiological = and psychological dimensions are optimized and integrated for those who are willing.”

I frowned. He was in= deed right. “And you are willing I suppose?”

He squinted. “= And you’re human I suppose?”

The answers to both questions were supposed to be the same. But there was something about the w= ay he asked his that made me suspicious. I raised my eyebrows, eyes wide. “Oh my God! You’ve never seen a human before!”

He hid the book he h= eld further behind him. “No…not much has the power to come across worlds. And I’ll die a million deaths than live on earth…I have seen one…just never been close to one before.”

I smiled. “You’ve seen appearances?”

He drew his head bac= k. “What’s there to a form than appearances?”

I shook my head. “You should be smarter than that. Appearances can be deceptive.” I took my h= ead to a tilt and a slight bow. “Why waste time. Meet one up close and perso= nal now. Hi Rek, I’m Dew. Nice to meet you.”

He took to a bow too. “I know you are Patroc and Detroc’s subject.”<= /span>

“Correction. I’m Patroc’s subject. Detroc just hangs around bedeviling me.”

He smiled.

And I noticed he was still holding the book behind his back. “Let me see your book,”= I said.

He took two steps ba= ck. “No…nobody needs to do that?”

“Why not?̶= 1; I asked. “If there’s nothing in there incriminating that is.̶= 1;

He hesitated before = he drew his head forward, “No such thing…if you want it that much…” He handed the book to me.

I took it and writte= n on the back cover was How to Become Human. I narrowed my eyes. “You’re studying to become human hmm?”<= /p>

He shook his head, or what looked like his whole body. “Just wanted to know how that came to be.” =

“Wouldn’= t that leave you behind?”

He ignored my statem= ent. “I believe the big bang was the most relevant initiation.”

I laughed. “If= the big bang happened, I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.”<= o:p>

He moved towards me = with ease, the strangeness between us dissipating. “Why would that be?R= 21; he asked.

I sat at the foot of= the tree. “Because void, or a lacking of sorts, will be so powerful, it w= ould drive its own purpose thus causing the reaction that gave rise to matter. S= uch, with void and word as energy and purpose, I should have enough to make a mo= st beautiful girl in the world me.”

He hesitated, thinking. “Would that work?”

“You tell me,” I answered.

He shook his head. “I mean you being the most beautiful girl in the world. Would it work= for you?”

“Oh that. No. I don’t want to be the most beautiful girl in the world. I’ll just become more of a sex symbol, a display that rarely goes where I want to be…no way!”

“It’s gr= eat for those women.”

“Yes, of cours= e. But it’s for them.”

He took his seat at = the foot of the tree near me. “If word is energy and able to drive its own purposes, as a writer won’t you be God?”

I smiled, widened my eyes. “Ain’t that something? A world where writers become God! They’ll be inhuman. The best writers are the most humanized.” <= o:p>

“Then writers = are the best humans?”

“No, no. I didn’t say that. I meant they’re the ones most capable of expressing humanity. And what’s not expressed can be felt but not known.”

He remained silent f= or a few seconds, thinking. “So you don’t want to be the most beauti= ful girl in the world. You don’t want to be God. What do you want to be, = rich and famous?”

I shook my head. “I simply want to be human. I want to be the best human I can be. But only I can do that. No big bang can do it for me. Evolution, beyond theory = or otherwise, there are some humans that may never make you want to become hum= an, because they lack the most essential quality of being human, their humanity= . I call them degenerates. What else can they be if the most essential part fai= led to evolve?”

“There are those?”

“Oh there are those indeed. Why would I want to leave anything good behind? For instance,= why would I have ever have wanted to quit your superb neurological instincts?”

He narrowed his eyes, thinking, before he smiled. “I do have those.”

3D"Rounded I nodded. “You absolutely have those. And nobody can tell me I don’t need it. Do you know how much chores I can get through in an hour with those?”

“Really?”= ; he asked, holding my eyes with his.

“Yes. And the fact that IR= 17;ve never met an old squirrel, may be because when I see it, it will be moving = too fast for me to know it’s old. Now look at the turtle, it’s so v= ery slow and it gets very old. This brings me to what humans really want to bec= ome …something between you and the turtle.”

He moved close to me, extended his neck. “What’s that?”

I leaned downward to hold his eyes. “To be old and never look it without becoming a creatu= re they won’t know themselves to be.”

He stayed that way f= or a while thinking before getting up on his hind legs and pacing. “This is getting exciting,” he said, before he stopped pacing. And extending h= is head forward, “Can I guess what you’re trying to say Dew, can I?” he asked.

“Yes you can!”

“That while you’re trying to be something else unknown you forget to be something…the very best of what you know yourself to be.” =

“Did I ever say you’re wise Rek?”

He smiled, jumped up excitedly. “No never Dew. Say it!”

“You’re = wise Rek…and hot.”

He rushed me in a fl= ash, and was rushing up my arm towards my shoulders. “You’re just li= ke human males when a woman says they’re hot, they think it is ticket to touch.”

“Really?”= ; he asked.

“Yes, but don’t get me started,” I replied.

He could barely cont= ain his excitement and the next place he jumped on to was my hair. <= /span>

“Ouch,” I said. “Get down from there Rek. Don’t you know you should never jump into a black woman’s hair? What books have you been reading?R= 21;

He jumped off my hea= d to land a few feet in front of me. “What’s in the book about black women’s hair?”

I smiled. “Too much! It’s a never-ending mystery.”

“Dew,” I= heard Patroc call me.

But my attention was= on Rek who laughed out, loudly. “We both know there’s no such thin= g as a never-ending mystery,” he said smiling. “There are just solved and unsolved mysteries.”

I raised my eyebrows, smiling. “Oh yes there is Rek! What do you think how to become human is?”

He hesitated, thinki= ng. “Oh Dew,” he said, his smile touching his mind.

I was happy I made a= new friend on 4D World, one I wanted to be who he was around me, to be naturally at peac= e. I beckoned him towards me with my hand, and as he rushed towards me, I lowered myself to hold his eyes. “If wishes were energy, powerful and in just= the right unnatural doses effective, then the big bang can make reality happen.= Now close your eyes little squirrel and come with me for your big bang.”<= o:p>

“Dew,” I heard Patroc call again. “Are you coming down?”

Rek closed his eyes.=

“Here it is,” I said. “Don’t ask the big bang to wish you to be…to be anything…you’re already here. But dare it little squirrel…triple dare it…within this moment we are in, to wish y= ou away. I assure you it can’t. And with the moment gone you have your evidence. Then you know you have to be the best…the best squirrel you= can be. Now keep your eyes closed.”

I put my hand down in front of him and touched his legs. And with trust in his instincts, he plac= ed himself in my palm. I took him to the top of the hill which faced the area occupied by Patroc and Detroc. I sat him close to me before I whispered. “Open your eyes.”

He did and this time moved close enough to me to touch me. I allowed him.

“Do you know t= he best thing about being on 4D World?” I asked.

“No,” Withdrawing from me slightly to hold my eyes, excitement in his tone. “Tell me.”

“Patroc and De= troc can’t do anything to me without my consent. The very best rule made to protect a cross-world traveler.”

3D"Rounded “Dew, get your human butt down here,” I heard Detroc say.

I smiled. “Is = that the nicest you can do Detroc?”

“Dew, are you going to come down?” Patroc asked. “Or we have to come up there?”

“You’re = not welcomed up here,” I said smiling. “And I’m having too mu= ch fun to come down there.”

Rek smiled and I laughed.

“Get your human butt down here or Rek gets to pay,” Detroc said.

“Ahh!” R= ek voiced, cowering. “He can do things to me Dew. He’s pure instin= ct. He can make me drive my head against a tree until it bleeds, make me run ar= ound in a circle until I puke.”

I frowned, horrified. “He wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh yes I would,” Detroc said. “Now get your human butt down here.”

“Son of a—” I said.

“Dew,” Patroc cautioned.

“Okay…I’m willing= to deal. I’ll forgive you for the Human you killed on—” I st= arted.

“Let die,̶= 1; Detroc corrected.

I swallowed the word intended. “I’ll forgive you for the human you let die on Earth,= if you promise never, in anyway shape or form to threaten or touch Rek ever again.”

“Deal,” = he said.

“Good. I’= ;m not coming down. You’re coming up,” I said. <= /p>

“Thanks Dew,” Rek said. “Can we do this again?”

“You bet.̶= 1;

He left me briefly to pick up How to Become Human, the book he had been reading, and I wat= ched him toss it down the hill. He smiled as he made his way back to me. “= Now Dew,” he said as he got to me. “If we can apply the same advice to the myst= ery of the black woman’s hair, instead of wondering on about it, it is wh= at is under it that should be enjoyed, explored and appreciated.”

I nodded, impressed. “You’re right. And there are many things under it that can be enjoyed, explored and appreciated. There is her mind and….and…”

Rek stood on his hind legs excited, expectant. “And what Dew?”

I squinted, thinking fast. “And…let’s take a picture of you. Say chilli-cheese!”

He frowned, tilted h= is head. “Avoidance…hmm…isn’t that how humans avoid talking about things say…embarrassing…or maybe even intimate. I think—“

“Just shut up Rek,” I interrupted, smiling. “Shut up and say chilli-cheese.”

Eyes wide with laugh= ter, “Chilli-Cheese!” he said.

3D"Oval:

THE ADVENTURES OF SILLI PAGE: THE CASE OF BENJAMIN LAIR= E ON KINDLE

FAILURE & SOLITUDE EXCERPT

IMPRINTS EXCERPT