Reading: "Altar of Incantation" from COVEAL OF THE HEDONIC (A.Glass 2025)

 

Walking up 1^st Ave, with the Sun now setting North West of the City, as its golden light pieces through the buildings that line the street, reflecting off various windows. Blinking, Nalina looks over at the rows of shops and traffic moving back and forth.
Time distortion, but not an out of body experience. Sometimes happens when I fuck. A nice dose of Tachysensia sex, gives me that high.
Smiling, looking around the street and its scenery. Satisfied that late afternoon has arrived. Maybe we both blanked out, and his girlfriend didn’t turn up. She begins to laugh. Or maybe she couldn’t get in.
Suddenly Nalina hears police sirens, as a car speeds past, loses control and slams into the back of a parked van on the corner of E 7^th Street, the Police car trailing behind screeches to a stop as two offices disembark, with their guns drawn. Nearing the commotion, she views two drug affected people, one male and the other female, stumble out onto the roadside. The police begin to roughly handle them both, pinning them down, whilst handcuffing the assailants. Nalina looks at the short dark haired woman, her expressed dazed and confused, with her eyelids drooping down.
“Always a drama…,” Nalina, says to herself, crossing over 1^st Street, walking towards the Deli situated at the other side of the road. “...So many good, somewhat, legal highs these days, and those idiots are still shooting up dope. Should've been legalized years ago.”
Nearing a Deli situated on the corner of the street, Nalina reaches into her handbag, smiling at the handgun nestled within its holster, sitting at the bottom of the bag, she eyes the small vial of perfume.
I smell like sex
She sprays it around her neck area, squirting a small amount onto her right index and middle fingers, rubbing the fragrant fluid over her inside right wrist, then spaying an amount onto her left wrist. She places the bottle back into her bag.
“Spicy sweet, fresh sex smells, with a vetiver, amber scent. What a combo,” she says quietly to herself, walking past the Deli and onto E 7^th Street, stopping at a door, with the Number Ninety One written above it, with an intercom attached to its graffiti covered brick wall.
Looking briefly around at the street, with the aroma of food in the air, as the golden light of the sunset, becomes the twilight.
“What a fucking amazing evening, time to see my Sufi mystic.” She taps the intercom with her right index finger.
“Hello?”
“...Ahmed, it’s Nalina”
“Come up”
Nalina hears the door unlock, entering the narrow corridor, with its stairwell, closing the door behind her. Inhaling the scent of Juniper berry and Tibetan saffron, she ascends the stairs reaching the 1^st Level, knocking on the door.
The door opens, as a man of Middle Eastern appearance, stands in front of her smiling, dressed in an embroidered ceremonial style robe.
“Dear Nalina, please,” with his open left palm he allows her to open his small esoteric book shop.
“Tea?”
Looking around the store, Nalina nods. “Whaddya got?” She asks, removing her shoes, as she sits down at an exotic styled chair, with its paisley embroidered pillows.
“Have you been drinking?”
“Booze? Nope, maybe later though,” Nalina replies, as she eyes the man pouring from a stylized glass pot with what looks like a purple colored flower inside, into two ceramic cups.
The man turns, and hands one of the cups to Nalina. “Good, then you should enjoy this.”
Nalina has sip. “This is good, kinda sweetish…” She exhales the steam. “...Like green tea, and chamomile scented.”
“Blue lotus tea, sacred to the ancient Egyptians. Vivid are dreams with this,” the man replies, sipping the tea.
Nalina with her right index finger, points at her eyes. “Colorblind”
The man chuckles. “So, what will it be?”
Nalina sips from her tea again, leaning forward she places it down onto knee high Moroccan circular style table. “Got to be your famed rose flavored Nexus, had a very good trip with that one”
“Of course…” The man stands, walking to shelf, with a collection of ornamented glass vials and a desk beneath it. “...Fifty mils?”
“Should be sufficient,” Nalina replies.
As the man, standing at the desk, carefully administers the precise amount of 2CB liquid, also known as Nexus, into a small dark brown glass tube, he then squeezes down the plastic cap, and then hands it to Nalina, to which she takes with her left hand, whilst hands him a Fifty Dollar bill. Bowing his head respectfully, he folds the note. “شكرا لك”
“Eafw,” Nalina replies.
“Ah, your Arabic is getting better, the man replies, as he sits back down opposite Nalina.
“Somewhat, since the digital networks collapsed and it's just analog pagers, you got use your memory more, than rely on AI,” she says chuckling.
“Yes…” the man looks at the window as twilight has descended over the city. “...We finally, all had to slow down. Be it, the will of God…” he looks at Nalina. “...or nature. That forced this upon us, to be humble.”
Nalina stands, as does the man. Who crosses his arms over his chest, gripping his shoulders with both hands, either side. “اكشف لنا نورك الإلهي”
He then recites the Arabic phrase in English. “Disclose to us Thy Divine Light.”
Nalina smiles. “Thank you”

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Reading: "Altar of Incantation" from COVEAL OF THE HEDONIC (A.Glass 2025)