Work Text:
Part One:
Hunger
Amity was hungry.
Not just your normal, run of the mill hungry either. No, this was something far deeper than that.
She traveled the world, endlessly searching for something that might sate this longing in her gut. Something to fill her, to leave her content and happy, a food that really satisfied. All her life, she had traveled in this search. France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Asia, South Korea, Japan, 36 states in the US, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador. You name it, she had probably been there.
Nothing else mattered anymore. The food was always delicious, but it turned to ash the moment it traveled down to her stomach.
In her desperation, she had even turned to simpler things. Cup ramen. Cereal. Sugar sandwiches.
Nothing satisfied the h̶̙̃ṵ̸̈́n̵͍͘ģ̶̈́e̶̘̿r̵͎͂.
Years fell by. A street in her hometown was renamed Baker’s Street. There was no bread.
A minute rewound itself, then fell into a panic and skipped the next. A bird trilled sweetly.
Amity smelled nothing. It was beautiful.
It smelled perfect. Amity was home. Before her was a bowl.
The bowl was empty. The sun was bright.
Amity blinked. The moon was awake.
The bowl was not empty.
Soup.
The soup blinked.
“Amity?”
“Hello Loup.”
How did she know that?
“You look h̶̻̼͚̦̠͈͙͙̲̮͕̯̹͙͖͓̩̝͗̌͛̉̽͗̽̉͗̆͑͑̀̓́̎͘͘͠u̶̮̥̣̗͇̣̟͔̟̜̖̠͍͉͕̭̦̲͔͗̍̆̍̂ņ̷͍̬͖̺̲͎̺̭͕̺͔͓̺̥͓͛̿̿̄̑̐̔̎́́̇͆͝ģ̵̹̟̮͉̪̟̠̮̹̭̠͍̠̓͜r̴̨̛͙̲̣͉͔̭̯̦̯̈́͂̌͆̈́͑̑̐́̿̇̿͆͌̎̈́̚͘͜y̴̛̺̟̭̭̖̪͔͍̩͎̜̝͇̖͛̓̋̾̾͋̓̆̕͠͠. You should eat.”
Amity loved soup. She took a spoonful, and ate.
It was perfect. Warmth spread through her body, contentment filled her. It was the most perfect thing she had ever had. It tasted like nothing.
“Loup, I love you.”
“I love you too, Amity. Eat, you will need your strength.”
Amity could not stop eating. Every spoonful was more filling than the last. She could not stop herself.
The hunger was gone.
A spoon clattered in an empty bowl. There was silence.
Part Two:
Filth
Luz was filthy.
This was not a normal filth. It stuck to her skin, cloying and putrid.
Luz searched up and down, sideways and backward. She had no soap. The house was empty. Luz blinked.
The store was filled with hairdryers. Luz bought a camera. Luz blinked.
The mountains were beautiful this time of year. She used her hairdryer. Luz blinked.
The f̴̘̝̜̥̤͓͖̞̎̈̍͆̊̇̾͗̃͠į̵̡̢̢̝̪̯̝̝̫̻̞̦̖͔̙̦̤̺̓̄͆̾̏ļ̸̳̰̖͕͍̥̬̙̗̐̐̐́͆͑̈́̒̎̒͌̚͝͠t̶̛̺̰͈͎̯̲͓́̑͋̏͑̋̐̋̈́̂̌̌̄̚͘͜͝͠͝ḩ̶̡̘͓͈͇̺͓̯̺̽̅̄̀̀̒̐̽͊̋̊̈̐̚̕ ordered Chinese takeout.
Luz stole an egg roll. It was not pleased.
Luz blinked. The house was full of dogs. There was a package for her.
The soap reformed on the counter.
“Hi Luz.”
“Hey Soapmity.”
Luz wondered why she had needed more soap.
“You look f̴̧̧͈̮̫͚̳̦̟͚̪̗̹͚̹̭͉̪́̑̒̀ͅi̵̧̛̹̗͔̎̆̃̍̄̌̑͑͐̀̊͋͆̿̈̌̀̕͝͝ļ̴̢͍͓̟̘̟͖̹̞̜̝͉̪̳͚̟̜̈̒̇̃̉͆͛́͝ͅṱ̶̢̞̲͚͉̣̈́͒̆̚͜h̷̛̛̫̻̭͔̝̻͎̜͎̋̓͒̀̀͒̈́͐̋͛̄̎̎͗͂͗͑͌̾̈̊̓̂̅ỹ̸̢̛͔̫̥̠̣͚̪̲͙͇̘͕͊͗̏̐͂͋͑̀̒̋͛̉͛́͋͘͠. You should wash your hands.”
Luz loved washing her hands. She turned on the sink and lathered.
A month passed. Luz had never been dirty. Luz was almost out of soap.
“I love you, Soapmity.”
“I love you too, Luz. Wash your hands, you will need to be clean.”
The filth was gone.
A faucet creaked. There was silence.
Part Three:
Rebirth
Somewhere, in a world very much unlike our own, two sentient constructs awoke.
“Soapmity.”
“Loup.”
Dreams last eternal.
Their love was endless. It could not be measured in a concept humans would understand.
Civilizations rose and fell. A child was named Steve. The moon took vacation. Stars were born, only to decide it was too early and they would very much like to sleep in today.
Time began. Realizing it was late, it decided to go ahead and call in that day.
Loup and Soapmity were happy.
Willow approached.
A spoon clattered in an empty bowl.
A faucet creaked.
There was silence.