“S o m e t i m e s u p . . .” she typed. Her wrists were bent like broken branches, and her fingers curled like crooked sticks, tapping out each letter on the keyboard.

“S o m e t i m e s d o w n . . .”

It was the answer to Nao’s elevator question. She hit RETURN and sat back on her heels, closing her eyes as though dozing. After a few minutes, a little icon on the side of the screen flashed and a digitized bell sounded an alert. She sat up, adjusted her glasses, and leaned forward to read. Then she began to type her reply.

Up down, same thing. And also different, too.

She entered her text and sat back again to wait. When the bell sounded, she read the incoming message and nodded. She thought for a moment, running her hand over her smooth head, and then she started typing again. 

When up looks up, up is down.

When down looks down, down is up.

Not-one, not-two. Not same. Not different.

Now do you see?

~ Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being

 

(Just a fun post as part of The Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge. This week’s theme: Descent.)