Tevun-Krus #97 - International VI: Peace

Metaforce - An English / Hindi Story by @johnnedwill

Metaforce

By johnnedwill

The noonday sun hung low in the winter sky, casting long shadows across the High Street. However, there was just enough light that when Maria looked up into the washed-out blue of the sky, she could see the misty shape of the metaform that hovered over the town. To Maria, the metaform looked like an insectoid Buddha: its long, spindly limbs held in a position of prayer. And, if she squinted into the sun, Maria was sure that she could see a pair of glowing eyes that seemed to bore deep into her soul. The sensation of being observed and judged made Maria feel uneasy. After all, she had seen at first hand what the metaforms had done when they first arrived: the dead bodies; the towns flattened from on high; the battlefields where the peace of the dead now reigned. The world had welcomed the metaforms and their bringing an end to conflict; but only a few cared about the price that had been paid.

Halfway along the street, a group of men and women were handing out leaflets to everyone who passed by. Their colourful robes - a mixture of red, blue, orange and gold cloth - made them stand out from the dark winter clothes that everybody else was wearing. Maria looked around, searching for a way to get past the pamphleteers without having to acknowledge them. But the group had spread themselves across the street in such a way that, no matter which route Maria took, she would pass within arm's reach of at least one of them. Maria held back, then joined a knot of shoppers making their way down the High Street, through the blockade.

"Hey, miss!" A henna-tattooed hand thrust a flyer into Maria's path. Instinctively Maria stopped, recoiled. "Hey! Miss!" the owner of the hand said again - this time more emphatically. He was a young man who might have been attractive if he had trimmed his beard and cut off the ragged dreadlocks that hung around his shoulders.

"I'm in a hurry," Maria said. She tried to step back into the crowd, to fade into anonymity; but the midday shoppers had gone on their way, leaving her behind.

"Just a minute. Please, miss?" The young man continued to wave his leaflet in front of Maria. The smell of cold, stale incense filled the air around him.

Maria glared at him. "If I take your damned piece of paper, will you leave me alone?"

"But there's so much -."

Maria didn't let the young man finish his speech. "Deal!" She snatched at the pamphlet, pulling it out of the leafleter's startled hand. Then, taking advantage of his hesitation, Maria hurried away.

"But ... !" His voice was lost in the hubbub of the street.

Maria turned right and hurried down a side street, heading for the coffee shop where she was going to meet her friend. The coffee shop had a single, large, plate glass window that looked onto the churchyard opposite. In good weather the owner of the shop would put tables out for his clientele. Today, the cafe was full of shopworkers and local businesspeople buying coffee and sandwiches 'to go'. The only people taking advantage of the tables were the hardy smokers, busy satisfying their twin cravings for nicotine and caffeine.

At the back of the coffee shop, next to the entrance to the bathroom, was a table set out for two. As she threaded her way through the crowd of customers, Maria could see that her friend Jean was already sitting at the table, her attention focussed on the screen of her phone. She didn't react until Maria sat down opposite her.

"Hello."

Jean looked up, blinking myopically through at Maria through her glasses. "Maria, I -."

"Didn't see me?" Maria put her bag on the table. "I'm not surprised." She glanced down at Jean's phone. "What's so interesting?"