Them!

Oh, such a glorious day! The sun shines brightly, laying patterns of light and shadow on the ground. The birds are singing and frolicking from branch to branch. The yellows and reds of the flowers appear striking against the backdrop of deep green leaves. The scent of the grass floats effortlessly over these lush surroundings.

On such a wonderful day you would expect the park to be full. And indeed it is. Over there you can see two work colleagues forging their way to the bench, cannisters in hand, ready to fill up for the afternoon slog. Over here you can make out a cyclist riding fast along the twisting path, her large head pushed back by the wind. And if you come this way, over the bridge, around the fountain, past the trees, just here, seated in seclusion under a great oak, you can make out two lovers, embracing, fingers against hands, her body intertwined in his, their giant balloon heads making a rubbery noise as they kiss.

'Mr Helium...' says one, with a daintily coy movement of her hand, 'you know that which we spoke of before...?'

Mr Helium's head physically deflates, making a squeaking sound. He becomes more serious.

'Must we discuss this now, Miss Hydrogen? Can we not just enjoy ourselves?'

Miss Hydrogen pouts.

'My dear,' he continues, 'I merely wish to bestow my full attention and affection on you!'

Mr Helium touches her thin leg, sliding his long, flat, rounded fingers near her valve. 'Oh, you enlarge me so,' he says, as his head inflates to double its normal size.

Miss Hydrogen's pink head becomes at once redder.

A low, droning beat seems to fill Mr Helium's body. Boom, boom, boom, echoes the deep sound. 'Argh!' He clutches his head in pain.

'Are you well?' asks Miss Hydrogen, full of worry for her beloved.

'A moment,' asserts Mr Helium. 'It will pass.'

'You proclaimed as such at our last rendezvous,' says Miss Hydrogen. 'You must be seen to by a physician.'

'Physicians? Tch! I need no such thing. Poked and prodded, then filled to the brim with gas? As if that would cure my ails. Ha! Physicians!'

'You are right, of course,' says Miss Hydrogen, submissively. Her passive face then takes on a brighter form. 'Now that we are to be wedded, I can take care of you.'

'And I can take care of you,' he says, winking.

She blushes once more. A slow turn later she is face to face with the massive head of her lover. 'I wish to be in your arms forever,' she says, breathlessly.

His response is cut short by a loud thud from the other side of the oak tree. Small branches come crashing down on them both. As fast as he can, Mr Helium slowly floats above Miss Hydrogen in an effort to put her light body out of harms way. He bravely bears the brunt of dirt and grass and other debris.

A moment later the chaos has subsided. Miss Hydrogen is shook up, but takes the time to caress Mr Helium's face, nudging the dirt enough so that it slides down the smooth rubbery surface of his skin. She notices a blemish, a lighter strip of blue along his cheek.

'You are hurt, my love!' she screams.

'Merely a scratch,' he says, fending away her motherly advances. 'Come, let us investigate the source of this mess.'

Mr Helium leads Miss Hydrogen around the tree, their heads trailing behind. They stop dead at a hole in the ground, a hole that seems to have a...shape. Miss Hydrogen cuddles in close, holding her love by the arm. He leans out over the hole, looking down into it, then shoots back up, stunned.

'What is it, dear?' says Miss Hydrogen, leaning over the hole herself.

'Don't look,' says Mr Helium, desperately, but it is too late. Below them, at the bottom of the small hole, prostrate on its back, lies a naked human body.

Miss Hydrogen scans it from toe to head. A wry smile appears on her contorted mouth. 'Look at the shape of its head!' she says, and lets out a laugh.

'It is minuscule indeed,' says Mr Helium, allowing himself a chuckle.

They share a smile and visibly relax. Mr Helium peels away from Miss Hydrogen, breaking their grip, and once more leans over the body, his head bobbing up and down.

'From where could it have originated?' Miss Hydrogen asks. 'There is nothing in sight.'

She releases a small valve behind her head which causes it to tilt back and back until perpendicular to her body. She looks up at the sky.

'Maybe it is from an aeroblimp!' she continues. Then, yet more excitedly: 'Or perhaps a giant catapult!'

She squeezes her hand repeatedly, each pump lowering her head.

'Enough fancy,' commands Mr Helium. He has dropped down into the hole and is kneeling lightly on the body. 'The chest is hard. Little gas remains. He can not be alive.'

Miss Hydrogen's head continues to tilt down and is now looking over the body. As her hand stops pumping, she looks from it to the strange body's hand.

'Aww, such gorgeous little hands, she says. 'Much like a baby.'

'Agh, cease that incessant topic!' spits Mr Helium. He feels the echo build up inside him once more, the deep bass sound of feet trampling heavily over hard ground. He closes his eyes and allows it to pass.

Miss Hydrogen drops down lightly on the body, joining Mr Helium. Her expression becomes more inquisitive. She touches the hand then pulls away quickly, afraid of some repercussion, perhaps of being burnt or poisoned. When she is sure it is safe she picks it up again. It is soft and feels strange to the touch. What's more, it is pink - just like the rest of the body. She turns the hand and notices something on its palm.

'Look,' she says. 'What do you suppose it means?'

Mr Helium seems reluctant to inquire. The earnest urging of his beloved relieves his hesitation and so his bobbing head leans in closer to take a look. Tattooed on the palm of one of its fat little hands is a single die with two dots on its face.

He scratches his egg-shaped chin. 'Do you suppose there are two of them?'

A small squirt of gas squeezes out of Miss Hydrogen, shrinking her head. With it, her facial expression becomes compressed, with pursed lips and frowning eyebrows.

Another loud bang. More dirt and dust fly above them. Miss Hydrogen cowers beneath Mr Helium, clutching his body tightly. Soon after, the pair emerge from the hole and push through the dust, coming quickly to another hole and another human body.

'This must be the female of the species,' says Mr Helium. 'It may be beneficial to examine her chest.'

Miss Hydrogen smacks Mr Helium.

'To check for life gas, that is,' he says, lacking confidence in his correction.

She pulls him back and drops down into the hole. A short gas release later she is looking down at the smaller, more delicate body. Her own hand trembles as she lowers it. The naked woman's palm is exposed, revealing a die as before, but this time with four dots on its face.

'Four and two...' says Miss Hydrogen, almost to herself. She looks up at Mr Helium. 'Do you think it is important?'

Mr Helium muses over this for some time, his expression filled with intrigue and gravity. His furrowed brow relaxes as he comes, seemingly, to a conclusion.

'I am sure it is nothing to panic over,' he says. 'Come, let us run gaily through the trees together!'

Miss Hydrogen looks back with confusion and disdain. She steps out of the hole and comes close to her beloved. After a beat her lips curl up and she starts to smile.

'Of course!' she says, enthusiastically.

They take each other's hand and, giddy, dance off, floating in the direction of some trees.

Soon the laughter becomes more distant. The fallen bodies lie unmoving in their holes. The man's palm is still facing upwards, still showing the die of two. In his other hand, tucked just below his body, and set between finger and thumb, sits a small, thin, metal pin.

The man's eyes open suddenly. They blink.

POP!

© 2012 Ben Safta

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Australia License