164 Lens

Onward Journey

164 Lens

Body went back to pottery class. It took a lot of energy and courage to overcome her doubts and concerns about her ability (which she told herself did not matter. it was just for fun) and her own general uncertainty about people. Body was a little afraid but attended the class anyway and the creative process was fun and allowed Brain to switch off a little. There was always time later to worry about daily tasks and bills, cars and court cases. Hell, they could go through stuff at 3am if they wanted to and often did. There was no one else to object to the lights being on or woken up by her. Time was now their own.

Quite often after class Body would just get in the car (the unpractical one that they struggled to pay for every month) and just drive. Where she was going was not important nor did she remember how she got there or when to turn around and go home. Body just enjoyed the wind in her hair, music playing (when she could figure out how to work the radio) and the sunshine. It felt good.
Body stopped at a cafe or anywhere that took her fancy en route to wherever she was going and if Body liked the restaurant, the cafe or the beach they stopped, and Body vowed to revisit it again. Not that she could, she could never remember where it was.

“Can we have a strawberry milkshake?” the Little Red Haired girl asked on one of their outings in the new car.
“I don’t know whether they do milkshakes child. We are not in the Uk, but we will find something nice and cool for you to drink” and suddenly Heart felt homesick. Homesick for the place the child had grown up in with its familiar landscapes and language. It was so much easier.
“That reminds me” interrupted Brain “did you manage to get an English language manual for the car?”
“No the manufacturer only has downloads of the English version or an App you can store on your phone, so I haven’t got any further with it” Body admitted.
“It needs sorting out otherwise if the car breaks down at any point it won’t be just the car radio you can’t work out. It will be how to change the tyre to that little temporary one stored in the minuscule boot” Brain enjoyed being sarcastic. “Or even the placements of the emergency lights, locking systems etc. “Hell or even how to shut the roof manually should it break.”
“Ok Ok I get the picture and agree, but the man from the company said it was not ‘Green’ to print out extra manuals so they are not encouraged to.”
“Then we must have the App” Brain stated.
“The App is no good Brain. Have you forgotten so easily how displaced we all were when the recent Power cuts happened across France, Spain and Portugal?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” called Spirit.
“Easy for you to say Spirit but this Human Body requires light to see and power to cook with. Not to mention power to charge a phone with an App on it and power to supply internet connection. What good is a car manual on an App if you’re phone ain’t working?”
“It’s a fair point” called Spirit. “Then we will have to download it and print it off” stated Brain.
“Yes. Coz if the car breaks down I want a book. A solid manual that’s kept in the car in the english language. So I at least know can look up where to find stuff if nothing else.”
“Yeah right. I can’t see you ever changing the tyre” mocked Brain.
“Possibly not” agreed Body “but at least the information is accessible should I or anyone else need it to know the functions within the car. Anyway, whilst I got this man on the phone I also asked him about availability of spare parts for this make and model and it would appear they only manufacture them for 10 years. Unfortunately we are going to be in the same position as with our old car a few years down the track.”
“The we should have researched that before we bought it” Brain stated the obvious.
“And how would that have made any difference? We couldn’t have afforded a newer one anyway” Body confirmed Brains figures on the matter.
“A strange path” Soul considered. “Why would they be so concerned about the paper and ink consumed in making a manual when they are prepared to discard a whole car ten years after its making because they don’t make the parts to fix it and continue its journey?”
“I agree” stated Body “How is that green? I know there are some after market parts but quite often they don’t fit or work properly, especially if its anything to do with the electronics or chip.”
“A tough call” called Spirit.

“Well the upshot is that we have a choice. We can either pay 86 euros to have it printed in colour (because the diagrams are only helpful in colour) or print it out ourselves at home buying more plastic cartridges and using more paper because the printer will not split the pages. Take your choice?”
“Or go back to downloading the App” Brain considered the options. “Incidently did ‘the man’ see the ridiculous nature of the green situation he was presenting?”

“Yes” Body laughed “he agreed with me but said it was beyond his authority.”
“Of course” stated Brain.
“Which reminds me” Body continued “we need to get some fuel on the way home. Just as well there is no power cut. Can’t get fuel if there is one without the pumps to operate the access to the fuel if you remember?”
“I do. Perhaps we should have bought an electric car? OH Doh listen to what I have just said” Brain laughed.

“Quite. Anyway don’t start to consider our ‘green’ options because they become further frustrating on a personal or a global level. What about Lithium batteries? Mining it and future waste problems? What about the consumption of raw materials or nuclear power to produce the electricity in the first place? What good is an electric car if you can’t charge it in a power cut? When you consider all the placements of ‘green’ issues they go round and round in a never ending loop. From a personal space, how can one make a ‘green’ decision?”
“Whoa ok. Let’s not go there” Brain surmised as Body pulled into a petrol station to refuel.

“How about only making journeys when they are a necessity?” sighed Soul and Heart instantly felt ashamed and guilty. The point was made.
“Just a second” called Spirit. “Are you not a human Body? One that is meant to experience some joy within this modern world? Does it not take everyBODY to solve these ‘green’ issues?”

Body nor Brain could answer the circular dilemma. It was too big a question to fit in the space adjacent to the pump, so Body went into the pay kiosk and waited her turn to pay for the fuel, when the man in front of her suddenly stepped away from her and holding his hands up for her to back away whilst he shouted at her. There was little space to do so and Body told him in her best Portuguese she did not speak Portuguese and did not understand what he was saying, but he continued to shout. Body was ashamed her Portuguese was little to non existent but he was very aggressive, that much was clear and very obvious as everyone turned to stare at him.

The man behind the counter spoke in perfect English to her as she paid for her fuel and Body’s questioning face led her to tell him to explain to the other customer that she did not understand and to apologise to him on her behalf for whatever the misunderstanding was. “Of course” he had said as Body picked up her change and left the counter.

“He was not a nice man” the Little Red Haired Girl concluded.
“Do not say that child. He may have just been having a bad day” Heart cried.
“No” the child continued “he had Black eyes”
“Everyone has black in their eyes child. It’s called a pupil, see, I have them” as Body showed her “and so do you if you look in the mirror.”

“Yes I know that. They are like holes in the middle of a colour like Blue or Brown.”
“Correct” stated Brain “they are like a lens on a camera or phone.”
“Then why was his all black?the child insisted.

“I’m sure they weren’t. Besides we were only near him for five seconds, he was too busy shouting and stepping away for us to see properly” Body remembered her position accurately.

The child hesitated as if remembering herself precisely before saying “They was Black. All Black.”