Welcome to another installment of House! Solomon has found himself in a bit of a bind after having discovered his alarms are failing to pull him out of the dreamspace. Or else he’s hoping what he’s experienced as the expression of the alarms in dreamspace are not the actual alarms he’s set. I supposed the only way for Solomon—and by extension, you, our favored guest—to find out is to keep moving through the dreamspace until something comes to light!
When we last spent time with dear Solomon, he had passed through a greenhouse and into a neon forest where he met with a talking snake. You can catch up with Part XVIII here. Let us see what the snake has to say, shall we?
A green snake, bright as neon with deep blue ringlets all down their body, dropped from one of the low branches onto one of the raised roots, slithered under and over and under and over until they perched at the highest point, and coiled their body to raise their head to meet Solomon's gaze.
"SSSSSSSolomon."
Why Solomon felt surprised by this, he could not figure out right away. But he was surprised, nevertheless.
"SSSSSSSolomon, Solomon, SS-ss-Solomon. SS-ss-sssssoooo many warnings." The snake dropped their head and slithered around and down the root to the base of the trunk and moved to another, bringing them closer to Solomon. This time, however, it did not rise to meet his gaze.
"I heading to the lighthouse," Solomon said. "Can you point me in the right direction?"
The snake rolled over onto their back and back onto their belly, then said,
"Can I?" They flicked their tongue, waving it at Solomon. "Can I? Perhapssss I can. Or perhapssss I cannot. Perhapssss. Perhapssss. Perhapssss. Perhapssss thissss issss not the right quesssstion."
Solomon watched as the snake moved from its perch, slithering under and over the gnarled root, back to the base of the trunk and onto another root, a different root, where it slid up to rest at the highest point, coiled their body, and rested their head upon it. When he determined the snake would not speak, he considered its questions.
"What is the right question?" Solomon could not leave the hesitancy out of his voice. He was confused by a great many things, and this snake unsettled him.
The snake raised their head and turned it so they peered up at Solomon upside down, flicked their tongue, then said, "What issss right? What issss wrong? Can wrong be right? Can right be wrong? When isss the right way the wrong way? When isss the wrong way the right?"
"I'm not sure I understand ..."
"SS-ss-Solomon." The snake turned their head back over and rose over their coils, looking like an expanding spring. "You undersssstand nothing. You come sssso full of yoursssself, and you don't even know what issss right. Or wrong." They collapsed, unwound themselves, and circled the root to its base, returning to the top of the root closest to Solomon where they coiled up once again.
Continued after the break
on sale now
A patron falls prey to the whimsical magic of a touring artist. Currently available only on Apple Books.
"I ... I'm not asking about right or wrong, I'm asking in what direction to go." Solomon was beginning to feel flustered, and he had to work to keep it out of his voice, to temper his tone.
"Any direction could be the right way or the wrong way. You would not know, for you know not what issss right or wrong."
"I know I don't know which is the right direction to go, that's why I'm asking!" Solomon's frustration was getting to him. He was tired. He was lost. He didn't know when he would get his next reprieve from this dream. He wanted out. "If you just point the way, I'll be on my way."
"The way issss right, and the way issss wrong. You have ssssaid right, and thussss you create wrong. But you have not defined right. And sssso you know not wrong. Only there issss a right, there issss a wrong, and you know not what issss right, or what issss wrong. Insssstead you sssstand here assssking for otherssss to define them for you."
"I don't have time for thissss," said Solomon in mocking imitation of the snake.
The tree emits a rumble and the snake circled the root, returning to their perch on top of it.
"The old man ssssayssss you are a fool."
"What old man."
"Thissss old man." The snake circled the root again. "He ssssayssss I am a fool to entertain you."
"I'm not entertained."
Another rumbled rolled out from trunk. Solomon felt its vibrations under his feet.
"Oh SS-ss-Solomon. Wordssss have meaningssss. You would be less-ssss a fool if you learned what thosssse meaningssss are and ussssed wordssss as they are meant to be ussssed."
"This is pointless. I'm arguing with a snake and a tree is calling me a fool, if what the snake says is true." Solomon turned his body away from the snake. "I'm off to find my own way."
The snake circled the root down to the base of the tree and slithered up another where Solomon would pass them by.
"When you don't know where you're going, any way will do."
"I know where I'm going," said Solomon as he passed by the snake. "I'm going to the lighthouse."
"But is the way you walk the right way or the wrong way?"
The question hung answered as Solomon stepped away from the snake and the tree and out of the clearing.
What a strange interaction. Is there, perhaps, something here Solomon can work with to help him solve the puzzle of the dreamspace and arrive at the lighthouse? It seems as if there is a deep wisdom being transmitted to Solomon, but the man is too foolhardy to recognize it. And so, off he goes! Where will he end up? There’s only one way to find out. Come back next week!
Please, for the love of all that is unholy and calamitous in this world, please let us know what you think of this content! The buttons below will each take you to a respective survey consisting of two to three questions. Your opinions will help shape the future of Backstage at the Calamity.