A friendly alien has come to embrace the untouched and cure the effects of loneliness and longing.
Beach. You take a last zip of your beer while the sun sets. Alone. As at all those evenings over the past months. As all those people around you sitting in the sand – at a distance. You let your gaze roam along the shore. This is odd. Apparently, a big white-blue sphere has risen at Atarim square.
...You remember listening to your mother’s stories about the great parties at Atarim square back in the days. Sundowners and whatnot. People dancing, enjoying being together. It was the first time your mom met your father...
The square’s expressive concrete structures are widely abandoned and partly torn down already. Well, you can relate. Atarim square had not been treated too well over the years. Exactly how you feel. F**kin’ pandemic.
What does the sphere say? “Free Hugs”? Hugs are good. Maybe you should have a look. At least it looks friendly. And soft. Soft is good, too.
You step up those crumbly steps and walk across the square. This thing looks somehow inviting! It makes you think of Boullee, or Bucky. Spheres are good. Always! This one sits above the ground and people move into a sort of blurry softness underneath it. Is that fur? Well, whatever it is, it looks very soft. Soft is good and you enjoy the haptic sensation while the slowly swinging threads touch your skin. You stay for a while.
There are rope ladders offering access into the sphere. And while you climb upwards the sphere squeezes you a bit as it transmits other people’s movement directly onto your body. You like that.Then you crawl onto the inner surface. Above you, a dome filled with all sorts of oscillating patterns opens up a universe of spatial strangeness. It is hard to recognize but you have the feeling that you can recognize figures in those patterns. They look like estranged versions of places you know, people you love. All abstracted and in a stream of continuous transformation. Did this thing hack your phone? And if so, you don’t mind as you enjoy memories over memories. – Isn’t that the sound of a double bass. Really slow. Really deep. And it smells like Levinsky Market. Neto was here. You lie down and the incredibly soft surface embraces your body. It feels like floating and being touched at the same time. And both, the soft strokes on the double bass as well as the soft strokes on your skin accompany you while you sink into sleep in this sea of softness.
After a while, you leave the sphere again. Strange. The sun is shining again. Has it not just set? Anyway, you feel good.
