treehouse/content/trickle.dj

title = "Trickle"

+++

It was a Saturday morning.
I was still in my bed, half-asleep, dreaming.
Floating, suspended in distant galaxies...

_\*ring, ring\*_

I yawned.
"Ugh, who's calling me this early in the morning...?"

`Incoming call: Trickle`

"Give me a break. It's a Saturday morning, Tricks..."

--- Vector?
This is Trickle. --- I heard through the earpiece.\
--- Yeeeah? --- I yawned. --- Yeah, this is Vector.\
--- Listen carefully.
We need to meet up immediately.\
--- Uhh, sure, what hour?\
--- How soon is possible?
This is kind of urgent.\
--- I dunno Tricks, you literally just woke me up...\
--- Vector, it's 10 o'clock.
Why are you still asleep.\
--- It's a Saturday, cut me some slack...\
--- You're about the only person I know who has a sleep schedule this rusty.\
--- I know, I know... it's not my fault my parents didn't calibrate my crystal.\
--- I'm pretty sure your inconsistent sleep is not your parents' fault, neither is your internal clock miscalibrated.
If you went to sleep at the same hour every day, you wouldn't have this problem.\
--- I've no idea how other people do it.
I just can't...\
--- Yadda, yadda.
Come to my house when you're ready.\
--- Should I bring Amber?\
--- No need.
I need you, and you only.\
--- Alright.

_\*beep\*_

Time to get to work.

Or uh, _not_ work, because it's a Saturday.
Yeah.\
Time to get to _not_ work.

I walked downstairs on the creaky wooden staircase.
Amber was already eating her breakfast, still in her night robes.

--- Morning, Amber.\
--- Oooi, Vec. Get a good night's sleep? --- she asked, still sounding a bit sleepy.\
--- You know the drill.\
--- As if.

--- It'd be nice if I slept well for once. --- I replied.\
--- You sure this ain't something that needs a doctor?\
--- Yeah, no. I can manage.\

--- Tricksy again? --- she asked while chewing on her corn flakes.\
--- Stop calling them that.\
--- C'mon, let a girl poke some fun at a friend once in a while...\
--- You know they don't like it.\
--- Makes it even more funny.\
--- Ugh.

I entered the bathroom to take a shower.\
On today's menu: lukewarm water, floral-scented shower gel, moisturising shampoo.

10 minutes later, time to clean the rest of the heckin' Vector.\
Fur dried, teeth brushed, hair combed, clothes put on.

I looked in the mirror at my reflection.\
Hair not too shabby.\
Fluff white as day.\
Eyes odd as the number 1.

Lookin' good as ever.

I walked out of the bathroom toward the front door.
It was time to leave.

--- I'm leaving! --- I told Amber.\
--- Tell Trickle I said hi!

Trickle's house was right next door.
Or rather, right next two doors, because there's one neighbour separating us from each other.
_And that was the tale of the Vector and the Trickle, forever split apart by---_

_\*knock, knock\*_

--- It's me, Vector!\
--- Come in! --- I heard from behind the door.

I took off my shoes, and entered Trickle's cave.
Because it could hardly be called a house.

A tinkerer at heart, their house was the ultimate laboratory.
Every room laid out with various tools, doodads, side projects, and lots of anime figurines.

I took a right to Trickle's room.
Or rather, workspace-room-gaming battlestation-thing with a hammock.

--- Long time no see. --- said Trickle.\
--- We literally saw each other a couple days ago.\
--- I know, but I really wanted to say that.

--- Look what I woke up to today. --- they said, showing me a news page on their computer.\
--- Oh!! The city finally finished the construction of this new park area?\
--- Yeah.

We've been eyeing this park ever since its construction began.
It would be close enough to our houses to walk there by foot, 20 minutes one way.
An easy enough spot to get to and discharge a bit after a day of hard work.

With that in mind, their wake-up sin was forgiven.

--- Wanna go? --- I asked.\
--- I dunno, I was kinda in the middle of---\
--- Alright listen here, you lil' undefined lop.

I gave Trickle the most contemptful expression I could make.

--- You can't just wake me up.
Make me move my ass to your house, on a Saturday morning.
And then tell me you don't wanna go.\
--- But my ramen---

I froze.
Eyebrow raised.

--- Ramen, you say?\
--- Yeah. Want one? --- they said, pulling out a second, unopened cup.

I realised I haven't had breakfast yet.

--- Hell yeah I do!

---

One cup ramen later.

--- That was good --- I said --- but you're gonna heckin' die if you keep eating this much of this.\
--- Life's good with tasty soup you can make in 5 minutes.
Besides, you know I'm not very good at cooking.\
--- Have you ever tried: following the instructions?\
--- You know it never comes out right.\
--- Maybe you need cooking lessons.\
--- Wanna teach me?\
--- Sure, that'll be five bucks.\
--- Heck yeah? I'll take it!\
--- Per second.\
--- Listen here you little---\
--- Anyways, let's go already.

--- Wanna grab Amber? My house is on the way. --- I said.\
--- No. It'll be an investigation... just for the two of us. --- they replied, pushing their glasses further onto their nose.\
--- Shut up and stop making this weird.

A 20 minute walk later, we were nearing the park.

--- Alright, moment of truth.
Is it complete... --- I started.\
--- ...or was the article complete baloney. --- they completed.

As we made the last turn, a large grassy area emerged, surrounded by trees of various kinds.

But as we got closer to the centre, we noticed something strange.
A weird... statue... thing?

--- Hey, Vector.\
--- Yeah?\
--- Do you see that thing over there, on the isle in the centre?\
--- Not quite... what the heck is that?

We stepped closer to get a good look.

--- Trickle.\
--- Yeah?\
--- That's a heater.\
--- I know.

Standing profoundly in the centre of the park.
Surrounded by four benches.

A regular ass radiator,
as if pulled straight from my room.

...

We stood there, looking at it in awe.

--- What... the heck. --- I said.\
--- I know, right.

We sat down on one of the benches, and started contemplating.

--- So, Trickle.
Tell me.
How do you think this happened?\
--- Do you know Duchamp's _Fountain_?\
--- I think you told me about it once.
Was it the urinal-turned-art-piece?\
--- Yeah.

--- I think they did a thing.
Like that. --- they continued.
--- Perhaps it was _meant_ to be thought about.
Pretentious.
Is what I'm saying.\
--- Well, they're doing a bang up job.
I can't stop thinking about it.
Why a radiator.\
--- A commentary on global warming, maybe?\
--- I dunno.
Why would you be heating up the outside.
It's so hot after all...

A few more seconds of thinking later, Trickle came back with a response.

--- But what if... it wasn't\
--- ...What do you mean---oh, right.
Winters are a thing.\
--- Exactly.

--- I'm thinking about it, and it's literally the opposite of one of those sprinkler things they place outside in the summer. --- they continued.\
--- You're... kinda right, actually.

--- Don't you think running a heater in the winter cold would get kind of expensive? --- I asked.\
--- Probably, yes.
But maybe it didn't matter to the city council.
Maybe they just wanted a cool park.\
--- Or rather, a _hot_ park?\
--- ...I actually wonder if that radiator in the centre is all there is to it.
Perhaps there are also ones in the floor? And in the benches? --- Trickle said, blatantly ignoring my pun.\
--- That would actually be kind of cool.\
--- Hot, you mean.\
--- ...Wow, right back at me.

--- Let's go back home now, shall we? --- said Trickle.\
--- Yeah, let's.

And with that said, it was time to walk home.