“Hello Amanda”, said Beiphlat.

“Help me! I’m trapped! I’m in some jelly container!”, she wobbled about frantically.

“Umm… this is going to take some explaining”, mused Beiphlat. “Terry, could you come down here, you would be very helpful about now”

Terry came down the stairs of the cottage rather confused. He saw a large obstruction in the living room. “Whats that?”, asked Terry rather bluntly.

“Help”, came a muffled yell from the obstruction.

Terry’s mind began to start ticking over. He knew that voice. “Amanda…” he said

“Yes… is that Terry. Help me Terry.”, said the obstruction.

Terry’s mind began working over time. His expression became mortified. The last time he had seen her was at the beginning of his insane adventure, and her mission was…

He couldn’t believe what her mission was… surely she didn’t complete it… but the evidence was quite literally mounting.

He looked at Beiphlat for confirmation… and his expression said everything. It was true, Anna had quite literally eaten a mountain of oranges… and apparently she knew nothing about it… which would be quite a shock, as she was previously quite petite.

“Erm…Amanda… Amanda Hall?”, said Terry Cautiously.

“Terry, yes its me Amanda… I’m glad to hear your voice. You have to get me out of here!”

“Okay…we’ll get you out as soon as possible” said Terry cautiously

Terry walked over to Beiphlat. “This is mad…”, he whispered, “Surely there must be something you can do?”

Beiphlat shrugged. “I can occasionally guide things… but this…”, indicated Beiphlat at the mound of human in front of him, and shook his head “I… I don’t know… she needs serious help alright…”. Beiphlat put his hand to his chin and mused.

“But how did she get here? She wasn’t supposed to be here… well I’m not supposed to be here… but well you know”

Beiphlat continued musing, and shook his head again. “The universe has been trying to accommodate you Terry. Its been following your life path… I can only guess one of the most important stopping off points involved this young… rather large… lady here…”.

They both stood there confused. How do you explain to someone that they we’re brain washed to eat a mountain of fruit, and that they are now disturbingly obese, after having previously been on quite a successful modelling career as a very slender busty model? Particularly as they were convinced that the thing they were trapped in wasn’t their body but… well a trap.

“Go on Terry”, Beiphlat stopped musing and pushed him towards Amanda.

Terry startled inadvertently bumped in to the woman, which caused a very disturbing ripple.

“I felt that… that can’t be right”, said Amanda. “I… whats going on?”

“Amanda, I have something very disturbing to tell you… and well, since you’re already sitting… or lying down, I think… well I’ll just tell you.”

“Okay… someone hasn’t died have they?”, she said.

“Erm… no. It started a little while ago…”, Terry began. He explained the whole thing.

Under the circumstances she took it well. She sobbed uncontrollably for a few hours. Then she started screaming, at one point Aelric threatened to suffocate her, until Terry surprisingly turned him a very angry look, to which Aelric decided it better just to go upstairs.

Eventually she calmed down enough to try and reason the situation out. “So I’m fat”

“I’m afraid so”, replied Terry.

“And I take up most of the living room”

“Yes”, replied Terry.

“Okay…”, she said calmly… before bursting in to a fit of tears and wailing again.

Terry saw Beiphlat go for a walk, and thought he’d follow him.

It was a lovely evening. The area was full of green trees. There was a mild wind with the sun moving towards the horizon, with the sky getting increasingly red.

“This is just insane”, said Terry when he caught up Beiphlat.

Beiphlat looked at him. “You’re not wrong”, he sighed. “This is all my fault”, he conceded.

“But you had to do it didn’t you?”, asked Terry. “I mean go back. I can’t be that angry at you… in a strange sort of way I exist because of you”

Beiphlat smiled. “I wish everyone could be as easy to please as you Terry. You are a remarkable man, you seem to take all this in your stride. Lesser men would now be gibbering wrecks.”

Terry shrugged. “But I’m still not the man I should have been… am I?”

“Its all about perspective Terry…You are one possibility out of a million… but your life isn’t over Terry… infact you appear damn near indestructible… now that’s one thing I don’t understand. You still have a big part to play in the story of the Universe. There are forces at work not even I can control.”

“But your world… it doesn’t exist does it because of me?”

Beiphlat sighed. “No… but I’ve been resigned to that for so long now, I just accept it. I don’t expect to see my world again… but I’m certainly busy enough in my life at the moment. I’m just happy to be alive”

Terry was surprised to find himself accepting this all so readily, but then when he had been through what he had been through then pretty much anything would make sense.

“Can we help her?”, said Terry after a spell of silence.

“Amanda? I hope so… might need a very big tread mill”, he grinned

Terry gave him an out of character stern look.

“I’m sorry to be so glib Terry. I know you were close once… but with due respect she was probably the most shallow woman you ever met.”

Terry nodded uncomfortably. “I hated her when we broke up, but she doesn’t deserve this. I mean this has essentially made her disabled… all laughing and joking apart, she can’t move… at all. Its just, cruel… and its all that Norman’s fault”, said Terry recalling the man who tortured him in his previous adventure.

The sky thundered. A worried look came across Beiphlat’s face. “We have to get back”. They went back to the cottage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Legacy of Terry Horowitz Archive

Terran

Front Page

Back Issue Page