1 - Where ? When ? Who knows ?…
She opened an eye, then the other. She didn't recognized the landscape around her. She couldn't move, or so was her impression, but she didn't care. She lay in the soft grass, grass which was spread as far as the eye could see. The sunset indicated the west, and she tried to identify where she was. But suddenly, she noticed that she didn't remember anything of her identity, of her life, … She just DIDN'T KNOW.
She tried to wake up. It was hard, but she managed to move slightly, she bent an elbow, she put a hand against the grass, she bent a knee… It took her five minutes, with extremely slow movements. She waited a few minutes in order to recover. Then she decided to go at the top of the cliff to her right. As she tried to walk, she noticed that something was wrong, because it was very hard to move forward. She thought that she was attached to something heavy and she turned her head behind to see what it was. And it was……
2 - Kate's bedroom, at 8.00 A.M. Sunday 21/1/2001
Kate opened an eye. Why did this damn alarm clock ring so early ? It was Sunday. She cursed at the instrument and painfully woke up. She couldn't remain deaf to duty’s call. She had to help her neighbour, Mr Harrington, to clean his attic. Of course, it was remunerated, but it was boring, exhausting and definitely too much for her. She decided that she'd never accept again. But for the moment, she had to go there.
As she passed near her Plexiglass cage, she stopped to feed her spider. She loved spiders, and she accepted the job almost only to catch new species of spiders. She liked all kind of arachnids, but her favourite was the big one in the large cage. It was a trap-door spider, her first one, caught by her father during an expedition in Africa. Kate gave her a name, because it was nearly her only friend, and she used to talk to her during hours to such a degree that Kate had personalized her spider.
Then, she took a little box and gloves. She ran to the kitchen, swallowed quickly her breakfast and went to Mr Harrington's house, where he was waiting impatiently. They went to the attic, very dirty and dark, but she didn't care. She had just seen gigantic webs, in a corner. And she saw the spider; it was beautiful on its eight legs, running on the web, spinning faster than a professional couturier. And, Kate delicately walked to the web and carefully caught the animal when it stopped in its weaving. The old man hadn't seen anything. With this one, the collection was almost complete. Then, she put the box near the door and started to do the rest of the work. At the end of the morning, the attic was practically clear, the rest of the job was the last AND the least. Kate looked at the box. The spider was still there. It was a question of minutes to finish the work, and Kate could come home before lunch.
Like a bonus, Mr Harrington gave her an old oriental lamp, like the one seen in Aladdin when she was young. Of course, she didn't believe those stories which were for children. She was an adult -- err… 18 years old --, with the realities of an adult. But she found it nice, and it would be good for the decoration of her room.
It was lunch for her little roomers, too. It was difficult to feed spiders, especially because she found spider food only in specialized stores. The day passed like the others, Kate had forgot the strange dream she had the night before, and she went to bed.
3 - Where ? When ? She starts to know…
Behind her were legs. Only legs, but those were hers. There were six now, but she didn't notice them, because she didn't sense with them. Now that she had recovered her spirits and forces, it was obvious -- for her -- that it was hers, and more, that she could control them. She tried to move a leg, and it simply complied, like the others. She was now standing COMPLETELY on all her feet, walking to the hill. But something else was wrong, but what ? Of course, it was heavier under her arms. Pardon, under her UPPER arms. Her arms were more than usual, six like the legs. Each pair was exactly the same as the upper pair, and were equally dexterous, and she could manipulate them very well, like if they always had been there. As she was moving her new -- were they really new? -- arms, she skimmed something which wasn't there before, she was absolutely sure. She looked down, and saw six perfect breasts, in three rows of two. She was sure that she wasn't like it before… Before what? She couldn't remember… Sure, it was strange, but she became accustomed quickly to her new condition. She cupped each of her breasts in one and, and felt an odd feeling. She wanted to dance, to exult, but as she was trying to do that, she fell over, not very used to all her new legs yet. She managed to stand up after some efforts to coordinate her movements. She was slightly destabilized, but she quickly became adept at walking with six legs, moving front-left, middle-right and back-left feet first, then the others. Walking like an insect, she arrived at the top of the hill. From there, she saw…
4 - Kate's room, 8.00 A.M. Monday 22/1/2001
Sure, it is a strange dream. Kate thought as she dressed quickly. The same as yesterday, but it is so real…It was like she was me… pooh ! It's just ridiculous. She came down to the kitchen without seeing that the lamp shined mysteriously… In the kitchen was her mother, who was rarely physically present in the house, due to her work. In five minutes she would be out, saying she was late, she would jump into the car and go far away with only a little word of goodbye. Kate's father had died three years ago, and her mother wasn't exactly a model of fondness. It was this feeling of abandonment which led her to consider the spiders as friends.
She came back to her room to finish preparing to go out, but when she arrived in, what she saw disrupted completely the rest of her life: from the lamp emerged a cloud of smoke, but at the end of the cloud was a strange being, like a genie! Of course, it was impossible, she was only dreaming. But it was not a dream, all of that was real.
The genie talked to her with an odd voice. “You're in luck today! You can't believe me, but one of your wishes can come true, thanks to me. Why ? Because YOU have the lamp, YOU are my owner, YOU can wish for anything YOU want with a limit of one wish of course!”
Kate was a little bit disappointed. How would you react in the same situation ? He continued. “I came to you because you have a very great wish, maybe unknown, but I can do something for you. If you know or find your wish, tell me.”
Kate thought of her greatest wish. She was… suddenly, she understood. In fact, spiders were only a facade. All she wanted was something like them. All was clear in her spirit, she knew what to say. And she told him her wish.
5 - She knows all
Behind the hill was a strange man. As she saw him, Kate remembered everything. The man had fulfilled her wish. Then he disappeared, and Kate saw a new world, HER world, that she could fill and mold to her liking, like a goddess.