lucky number nine // io&kemali blitz

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lucky number nine // io&kemali blitz Jan 3, 2022 11:52:37 GMT -5

Post by fox on Jan 3, 2022 11:52:37 GMT -5

I O

i dreamed of greener pastures for three days, a new life in a different place, a new life in a different body, my garden of plenty and the promises i made all those years ago grasped firmly in my hands. then, i woke up, suddenly with a brand-new stitched arm, passed through the delirium of withdrawal.

my bones ache with a pain that feels more ancient than time.

the fabric of a blanket feels soft on my skin.
what is the afterlife but simple pleasures.

i think i'm supposed to be dead in an alley, buried in the shadows of district nine. in some vision, i watched the life leave my eyes, blood sweetened for the flowers, and ah, there was his face like a holy prophet, hazy and burning. he spoke so much more pure the blood i bled that night – "cos it was the right thing to do."

i must've missed the punchline to the joke.

sitting up on the couch, there's a whisper of "he's awake," and i catch a glimpse of someone leaving the room before there's the sound of more footsteps down the hall. the afterlife looks like a small house, tastes like dried blood.

vision to vision, "look who it is," i say, voice sounding far away from my ears, "my saviour. and i didn't even get a name."

I MOVE IN WATER SHORE TO SHORE.

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lucky number nine // io&kemali blitz Jan 3, 2022 12:26:53 GMT -5

Post by kousei ♚ on Jan 3, 2022 12:26:53 GMT -5

k e m a l i .

"Life is parallel to Hell"

For three days, he was chased by his own memories. When he found himself alone, his eyes would find bloodstains spattered on the asphalt. He looked down and found he was being followed by afterimages of his own bloodied footprints and the echo of a gunshot followed him. He would shrug his shoulders and carry on with his day. Carving soap and making sure his jewelry stayed clean.

When his momma questioned him about the bloodstains on his clothes, he lied through his crooked teeth and said someone at work had an accident and Kemali had to help him out. He didn't want her worrying, she had enough on her plate already.

("you're in deep shit now.")

He wondered what the fuck that meant.

He picked out a 'congrats on recovering' present. A bracelet with the continent of Africa that proudly clung to its underside. He figured it was the least he could do - considering he almost died and stuff. After another day at the soap factory, he took a detour to Genevive's house. Blood still clung to his heels.

She let him through, to see him and there he was. Awake, broken, but alive. Relief pulled the corners of his lips into an awkward smile.

"My saviour. And I didn't even get a name."

Kemali shrugged. He was just in the right place at the right time. Nothing special about it.

"Name's Kemali," he said as he shuffled in the room. "You feeling okay? Made you a get well soon present."

He gingerly held out the bracelet and tried not to wince as that damn gunshot rattled the back of his mind.

elegant

Last Edit: Jan 3, 2022 12:30:31 GMT -5 by kousei ♚

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lucky number nine // io&kemali blitz Jan 12, 2022 16:09:06 GMT -5

Post by fox on Jan 12, 2022 16:09:06 GMT -5

I O

something feels grown in me these three days, a little bud of green coiled around something i never even knew was there. bones rattled by ghosts, a god smoking cigars in my stomach like it's an empty bar, and i feel like a burial ground. headstones sprout in the only green for miles around in district nine. i feel hot, or maybe cold, hands shaking like a babe thrust from the womb.

kemali gives me something, a gift. another gift.

i take it from his palm, slip it onto my wrist, and shake the bracelet on.

"cute. kinda goes with the knife wound." and my arm burns even as i say it.

is anything ever free.

a person eighteen years ago gave birth to me and death demanded payment. now, clinging on to the only thing i've ever been given, i've paid it in blood and muscle and tears and it has never been enough. what new debt do i owe the universe for this bracelet. what will i owe kemali for the life he's given.

i wonder, would i have been happier working in a factory smelling of acetone, paid in pennies, quietly surviving day to day to day in the shade of deities. and would i be happier to die as poor as i was born, stuck to the bottom of the district's shoe for all of my time. did i choose wrong after all?

"io," i say, "that's me." no longer dying. at least, not yet.

there's a charm in the shape of something underneath. i move my wrist towards me, fiddling with it, a lightheadedness behind my eyes. "what's this?"

MAN IS LIKE A SPRING FLOWER.

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lucky number nine // io&kemali blitz Jan 18, 2022 18:27:15 GMT -5

Post by kousei ♚ on Jan 18, 2022 18:27:15 GMT -5

k e m a l i .

"Life is parallel to Hell"

Io.

Such a short name, like a word cut short by a dagger to the throat. I...O - stopped just like that. Just like the countless faceless lives snatched by the reaper's scythe on the streets of District Nine. Just like this man would've been if Kemali simply decided to take another route home from work that day. Dead in a gutter; no one deserved that. It was the right thing to do.

Kemali watched his arms carefully, careful eyes traced over the stitching that decorated his skin. Pride flickered in his chest when the bracelet casually slipped over his hands and onto his wrist. The corner of his mouth twitched upward when Io asked what the charm was.

He sat forward, choosing his words carefully. "It's a whole ass continent. Like it's way bigger than a District, you feel me? It's called Africa." He stopped himself. The last thing Io needed was an hour-long lecture on Africa and hope. "If you don't get a bullet in your face I'll tell you all about it."

Bang.

He wondered if people wanted to shoot each other there, too.

"Who was that, anyway?"

elegant

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lucky number nine // io&kemali blitz Feb 4, 2022 1:58:32 GMT -5

Post by fox on Feb 4, 2022 1:58:32 GMT -5

I O

► ► ►

a whole ass continent?

guess i just missed one too many classes of geography – out counting grams and finger-painting wounds between periods in the tenth grade, my own extracurricular education bleeding into school hours and at some point i stopped going at all. the bracelet dangles from my skin like another scar, i hold the little thing to my gaze.

bigger than the whole district, huh?

Kemali bites down a tone of eagerness, something lining his words and it's like i've heard it before from someone else – like talking about the spring during winter, thinking about a blue sky during rain. his moment passes, expression darkening as he asks "who was that, anyway?"

"family drama." i smile at my good samaritan. "i'm being disowned – you know how it is."

my hands are shaking, i bury them in the blankets.

"guess i'd be careful for awhile. the family doesn't like it when outsiders fuck up tradition." what was it again? the limbs one by one? "don't worry, they weren't gonna kill me. they'd probably kill you though – rest in peace bro."

the ache behind my eyes chips at consciousness, the room shattering at every breath. lying back down, closing my eyes for a moment, my voice sounds far away. "but no biggie, just try not to die in the next few weeks. you've managed your whole life so far."

Last Edit: Feb 18, 2022 18:22:21 GMT -5 by fox

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lucky number nine // io&kemali blitz Feb 8, 2022 16:44:56 GMT -5

Post by kousei ♚ on Feb 8, 2022 16:44:56 GMT -5

k e m a l i .

"Life is parallel to Hell"

Disowned?

That shit didn't make any sense. Not that Kemali knew anything about being disowned, he and his family were tightknit, but he'd never hurt anyone in his family like that. It didn't matter what they did - blood is thicker than water. At the end of the day, if you couldn't rely on family you couldn't rely on anyone. What kind of existence was that? Especially in this hellhole.

Kemali supposed he couldn't be too surprised. The streets of District 9 regularly took men and turned them into monsters. To some, money talked and it told them to spill the blood of their family. Kemali felt his spine shudder.

"Don't worry, they weren't gonna kill me. But they'd probably kill you though – rest in peace bro."

Kemali's jaw dropped. "Wh-what do you mean?!" He stopped himself from going on, kicking himself for asking such a stupid question. Gunshots followed by the man's screams rattled in the back of his head. He hung his head in resignation. "Shit. He hissed shakily.

Io's state flashed before his eyes. The blood, the crimson smiles that peeked through the tears in his clothes - it would all be him. "That's what I get for being stupid I guess, sticking my nose in other people's business." He said through gritted teeth. He should've just pretended he didn't see nothing - like his mother always told him.

He wouldn't have been able to live with himself; if Io's family weren't hacking him to pieces then the guilt would've devoured him from the inside out. He supposed he was fucked either way. He managed to sigh before looking up, Io felt leagues away now. "How fucked am I?" He asked, rubbing his fingers against his temples.