Wait for the arrival of an envelope. Steal a peek or two a day at your mail slot at work. You will wait a longer than usually needed. When it arrives you are surprised, as if it knows when to spring its existence upon you.
It is tightly wrapped in clear plastic. It heaves a sigh of relief as you tear it out of its swaddle. It opens up and reveals its treasure to you. Its treasure are ideas tightly packs in words.
It is the CREATURES OF NEAR KINGDOMS book.
Clearly, it has evolved into an expert in camouflaging itself in the wild.
Its publisher has categorised it as a comic. But it does not look like a comic. Neither does it smell like a novel. To say it tastes like a gaming sourcebook would be unfair to it.
When it speaks, it identifies itself. Still its self identification is unclear to you. It is more than mere words can describe.
It lists out creatures that exist just out of the sight of not just your eyes, but your mind. The creatures are there, you know now, after reading the book. You wish to see them, to touch them. However, you know that your meat-constructed fingers could never brush against beautiful patterns in shadows shaped by true things in the world but misshaped by true things in the mind.
So you read on.
You read and enjoy the book, with its eloquent words and evocative artwork. As you go to sleep, the book continues to cascade ideas to you.
You keep reading.
Creatures of Near Kingdom
Malaccan Driftwood
Dugong
Sand-sucking Sea Slug
Creatures of New Kingdoms is by Zedeck Siew and Sharon Chin and is available at Maple Comics.
Thanks to Ivan for the book!
