A Radio Static

Almost as if Maya had gotten up and walked out of a photograph, she had gone missing again. This wasn’t something that hadn’t happened before. She had tip-toed out of the familiar in search of the radio static that was reaching her faintly from a distance.

When Maya opened her eyes, she found herself standing in front of a green sofa dimly lit by the sun. She saw a woman sitting in front of a radio, about to turn the dial. It was almost like the sofa was empty and the woman waiting in anticipation of Maya.

“This is Maya,” the radio blared. “It’s 1951, and the television will take another decade to reach Maya’s home. Maya is a girl of habit. Every Saturday, she has her evening sausage and listens to ‘Alice in Wonderland on the radio.” 

“I love Alice in Wonderland!” replied Maya to no one in particular.

Even though Maya didn’t move and the radio was still, we heard the voices of Alice and her sister booming in the room. 575.

Sister: Alice…! Will you kindly pay attention to your history lesson? 

Alice: I’m sorry, but how can one possibly pay attention to a book with no pictures in it? 

Sister: My dear child, there are a great many good books in this world without pictures. 

Alice: In this world, perhaps. But in my world, the books would be nothing but pictures. 

Sister: Your world? Huh, what nonsense. Now… 

Alice: Nonsense? 

Sister: Once more. From the beginning. 

Alice: That’s it, Dinah! If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrariwise, what it is, it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. Do you see? 

“You see?” the woman asked. Maya and the woman had not exchanged a word since she entered. So when the woman finally spoke, Maya took a few seconds to register that it was not the radio talking. As the woman spoke, a great many trees engulfed with clouds entered the room. A great many things were floating around the trees, some of which had color and others which had a monotone of black and white.

Maya had not replied to the woman yet because she counted all the colors that had entered the room. The woman repeated, “You see?”.

Maya replied, “I see, but I don’t understand.”