Flash stayed in the cave, and looked at the other drawings and paintings that adorned the walls. One panel featured cats in grass skirts, dancing on stage.
“I remember this one,” he said to the child inside him.
“Miss Kitty Islands. It was a beauty pageant.”
The child grew excited at having an interested audience… an adult… that remembered and took an interest in his work.
“This one is the Minnie Mansion,” the little boy said, pointing out a drawing of a stone castle.
Cats and horses were recurring themes throughout the cave, and Minnie herself made several appearances. Flash looked at her black and white fur, drawn by his own hand, long ago. The white blaze that ran from her black nose, up her forehead, looked just like Lem’s. He felt the loss of both of them with a freshness and suddenness that he hadn’t anticipated. They seemed connected, the way he was connected to the artist child. He grieved the loss of all of them. They still traveled with him in his heart, and he felt sure that they would all be reunited again soon in another dimension.
Big Flash and Little Flash both remembered how long it took to meticulously draw all the stones in the mansion wall, and Big Flash thought of Buffy and Skip’s castle with its intricate placement of gems.
This little boy had been nearly forgotten, with nothing but time to create all this. He had slipped away so gradually. So imperceptibly. He was never really gone, it’s just that Big Flash had lost sight of him, and promised him that he would never leave him.
“There is nothing wrong with you,” he reassured.
“I love you. I love you exactly as you are. It is ok to explore. It is ok to ask questions. It is ok if you are angry or afraid. You can make mistakes, and you can have doubts. I will always love you, and I will always be here for you. I will take care of you. You don’t have to take care of me.”
At the same time, he knew that this child had a lot to teach him.
Here in this grand space, was the greatest art gallery Flash had ever seen. Like the Ololian book, it was tailored to him.
Mad’s apartment in the mountains looked a lot like Jewely’s. Her spire was pale blue. Each apartment in the spires took up an entire level, or floor, so her view stretched in every direction. The light inside was bright, but cool. The walls were so transparent that you didn’t notice the color from inside, and details, even far away, were crisp. The floor and ceiling were translucent with opaque veins running through them, and the walls could be darkened.
Whales could be summoned for transportation, but most of the inhabitants took the stairs.
I don’t recall anyone ever being in a hurry on Olo! You see, they lived in the present, and didn’t really worry much. I think I told you about the time Flash dropped from the sky. He felt a thrill, yes, but he wasn’t afraid. Lem often felt concerned, but she took control of her activities. Rather than worry, she just made comfortable decisions for herself, and no one judged her for it, or coaxed her to do anything she didn’t want to do. As the king said, you can go or not go. Going or not going doesn’t change anything but your understanding. You can talk or not talk. No pressure.
All this to say, Mad almost always took the stairs.