Madame Baby
She floated weightless, in the vast nothingness, long full of power she had no need to use, no desire to use. She looked upon the world, and saw the people, their joy and sadness, their long depressions, and their eras of bliss. She – though their was no gender in this formless void – decided it was time to venture, to experience for herself.
Her will drifted across the world, looking for an anchor, looking for a place to cast her magic. She began as any human does, a clump of cells, dividing and multiplying. She would use her magic to command nutrients from her host. Her soul would see the sick mornings and the swollen feet and the sore back, though her new human form was too young to know any of it, too young to retain it. Her magic was powerful, though not without side-effects.
As she neared birth, and moved more, and poked at her new momma’s insides, she grew farther from her soul, less connected to the void, and her magic waned. Her soul would watch, and when it was all over, she’d remember everything. But as she went through it her new mind and body would rule, as her will commanded, as the will of many other souls had commanded before her, and would command again.
Again, she decided it was time to venture forth, and so she commanded mother to push her forth. Mother hurt, mother cried, mother pushed and pained. She called others forth to catch her, to help her take her first breaths, to make sure her baby form cried as it should.
Her soul agonized. After endless time of peace and bliss, she now suffered what so many others had. She considered letting go, but her magic drove forward stronger than she knew it could. She remained tethered to this infant form, and continued to cast her magic upon the world. She brought forth doctors and nurses – so many nurses – as well as Mother and Father to warm her and cool her and feed her and clean the mess she willed forth.
Weeks would pass and the food would come again and again, whether from Mother, Father, or a Friend, as she willed it so. Her magic was different in this world. Slower. Harder. But no less effective.
Father would look into her eyes – as he stared into them, he saw the void from which she came, from which they all came. The vast gray-blue beauty of it, though color only really meant anything with these human eyes. But they sparkled with a feeling like that of floating in infinite peace. Father and Mother would return to the void one day, but they’ve long forgotten of it. They would even fear it as it drew closer. Their souls were always watching, but their minds ruled as hers was coming to. Their souls knew the way of peace and the vastness of being, but their minds only knew earth.
As the years passed, her magic would change in form. Where once she could command food as she pleased through will and noise alone, now she must cast specific spells and overcome the barriers others had raised as their souls became passive. Spells like “Please” and “I’m hungry”. As she got older, the spells got more complicated – now she’d have to set totems and fabrics on their altars to bring forth the treats her insatiable taste buds longed for.
As her desires grew, so too did her magic weaken. When her wants were small – for breast, for bottle, for cuddles and play – all was fulfilled. Now her wants are many – for friends, for inclusion, for rest, for toys and more. The first time her magic truly failed her was in her 7th human year. She, and her peers, had grown far from the peace they had forever known. She’d felt a crush at school, had tried to hold his hand, and he said “ew” before running away.
Times like these her soul wondered why she’d formed, why she’d chosen this over peace, and when she would come back together as one. Such existential concerns were far from her mind though, which was filled with hurt. When Mother asked how her day was, her eyes filled with tears – a spell she’d learned and refined over her life so far. A very effective spell, she’d found, though Mother and Father both had some defenses against it. As she willed, Mother would hold her, pat her back, kiss her cheek. Mother would offer her treats too, if she carried the spell longer.
As her body grew more strength, her limbs grew longer, her mind grew smarter, the magic fell weaker and weaker. Hormones would flourish, though she had not willed it. Friends would reject her, though she had not commanded it. Boyfriends and girlfriends would break her heart, no matter what it demanded. So too would she be filled with love, with joy. She would play, learn new games, explore the world, her mind, and develop a complex life.
She came to adulthood and found how to live without her magic, which had been lost for years. She found love and built a life, worked a job, and one day a soul would anchor to her womb. She, too, would be put under the spell of a new form inhabited by a soul that had left it’s peace. She, too, would feel the magic Mother and Father had felt when she was born. She no longer knew it was magic. She could no longer wield it herself. And yet it filled her and directed her and grew within her, though it would mostly go dormant for years.
Her life continued, and her children would grow, and she would become tired. Her soul was beckoning, missing this part that had been gone for so long. Her soul had found it’s way into her mind, though the connection was weak. Her body began to weaken, and that stored-away magic began to work its way in the world again, though she resisted its use. Again she would command food to come to her, for others to clean her, to help her walk, and even lift and carry her at times.
Her soul’s tether grew stronger now, as her body was losing it’s connection to this world. Soon, she would return to the endless peace. She felt at peace, but feared it too. Though her soul knew her, she knew not where her soul came from.
Her children and some remaining friends would come, as she willed. She lost her words and her magic grew stronger. Again she would will food and for other needs to be filled. Now her wants would shrink, and she would need little so her magic was strengthened. She’d watch the tears come from her loved ones, their magic not strong enough to keep her here in this form. She would smile, full of love and joy. She would cry too, sad to be leaving them so soon.
Her body stopped one day, her mind and soul merged. She watched for awhile as her family and friends lived on. She looked upon the world, with it’s wars and hunger and fights for human rights. The world with its abundance and its laughs and immense diversity. For awhile.
Then she would put it aside. It would become but one part of her many selves, the many forms she would take over her infinite existence. She would love that version of herself, the souls she met in that form, though she would change, much as she had done throughout her human life. Once again, she floated in the infinite peace.